An electric version of Jaguar’s flagship XJ sedan was axed at the eleventh hour two years ago – but now overseas reports claim the car-maker is interested in a battery-powered rival for the Mercedes-Benz S-Class once again.
Plans by British car-maker Jaguar to target Bentley with a new range of high-priced electric cars – intended to save the company from extinction globally – will reportedly include a four-seat electric luxury sedan to succeed its iconic XJ.
As previously reported by Drive, the ‘reboot’ of the Jaguar brand – due to commence next year – will spawn three new electric vehicles planned to rival Bentley and Porsche, after it failed to gain traction in pursuit of Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
Now UK publication Autocar claims one of the vehicles will be a full-size flagship sedan planned as an indirect successor to the XJ – alongside a sportier Porsche Taycan sports-sedan rival, and a luxury SUV.
While Jaguar had been working on an electric XJ as recently as late-2020, the project was canned in February 2021, just months before it was expected to be revealed – ending the nameplate’s 51-year history.
The vehicle was deemed out of step with Jaguar’s new Bentley-rivalling strategy – as it had been developed as a Mercedes-Benz EQS and BMW i7 electric sedan rival – and would have felt out of place in showrooms alongside the next-generation model range, according to executives at the time.
According to Autocar, sources close to Jaguar told the publication three models will be based on the company’s upcoming, ground-up JEA electric-car platform – a luxury SUV (one of which will rival the Bentley Bentayga), a “four-seat GT [sports sedan or SUV]”, and “an imposing limousine conceived in the mould of the XJ”.
The Jaguar insider also claims the electric super sedan will be all-wheel drive and have “no less than” 335kW, allowing for a 0-100km/h sprint time between 3.0 and 3.8 seconds.
A price between £100,000 and £125,000 ($AU195,000 to $AU250,000) has been suggested, though these claims are, for now, unsubstantiated.
As a part of Jaguar’s brand image reinvention – which will see the car-maker’s role restructured within the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) group – the upcoming electric cars will reportedly ditch the traditional leaping cat logo of old, instead adopting cleaner J-A-G-U-A-R lettering.
Autocar reports the as-yet unnamed electric sedan could go into production within two years, though it says it will not be the first model in Jaguar’s next-generation model range, which is due to commence next year with the four-door ‘GT’ sports sedan.
The move to the new range of higher-priced electric vehicles will spell the end for all current Jaguar vehicles – including the I-Pace electric SUV.
“When we launch our new JEA platform, the change from today on Jaguar is very dramatic,” JLR CEO Adrian Mardell told Autocar. “We don’t want older-looking cars and newer-looking cars.”
Throughout 2022, Jaguar sold 61,661 vehicles globally – down 28.5 per cent on 2021, 40 per cent on 2020 and 66 per cent down on its record of 180,833 sales in 2018.
Jaguar’s sales split within JLR compared to Land Rover has also fallen in recent years, standing at just 19 per cent in 2022 – albeit as production of more profitable Land Rover Defender, Range Rover and Range Rover Sport SUVs has been prioritised.
In Australia, Jaguar sales have slumped from 2274 vehicles in 2019 to 700 vehicles in 2022 – a drop of 69 per cent.
The post Jaguar electric-car reboot to include flagship super sedan by 2025 – report appeared first on Drive.
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