Jaguar’s electric shock

Casting aside its tweeds and pipe, Jaguar is going full electric, and it all will happen by 2025

Jaguar Land Rover’s entire organisation has just been hit by lightning. Thierry Bolloré, the chief executive who arrived last September, has revealed clean-slate plans, including the end of internal-combustion Jags by 2025.

Starting with the electric XJ?

No. The electric XJ replacement, seen testing in prototype form, has been scrapped. The new plan is for an all-electric line-up by 2025, all built on one Jag-specific platform. ‘Although the nameplate may be retained, the planned XJ replacement was not fitting with our new positioning,’ says Bolloré (below, left). There’s still life in Jaguar’s first electric car, the i-Pace – Bolloré says ‘there’s lots of potential’ with it, but ‘the new portfolio will be much more compact than it is today.’

Why one platform?

Bolloré wants to simplify production, and he’s giving the design team, led by Gerry McGovern (below), freedom to come up with new shapes for that future range. ‘We want the best of the best for Jaguar’s new BEV platform – our designers are totally free to prepare and propose to us the most dramatic designs, and they’re not far from being ready.’ Don’t expect anything quite as out-there as the recent GT SV virtual racing EV concept (below), but it’s an encouraging sign.

And then beyond 2025?

Diesel Land Rovers will be phased out by 2026, and JLR is investing in hydrogen fuel cells. ‘We won’t limit ourselves to pure electric,’ says Bolloré. ‘Fuel-cell technology is the logical complementary step – we’re going to have miles on the road later this year.’

But… electric Land Rovers?

Eventually. New models will be use MLA underpinnings (which can house both BEV and engines), and later on the all-electric EMA platform.