Electric Future: All Current Jaguar Models Dead by 2025
Jaguar is betting its future on an exclusive battery-electric platform. At this point, where it’ll come from is unclear.
The end is near. That’s no Chicken Little hyperbole, either. Because according to President of Jaguar-France Philippe Robbrecht, the company’s path forward does not include any of the models currently on sale. Everything forward going will be all-new, and all-electric. Unfortunately, that means — along with the rest of Coventry’s stable — the glorious F-Type is headed for the chopping block. So by 2025, a brand-new Jag with a snarling V8 will be a thing of the past.
Details come from France’s Le Monde, which echoes much of what we already know about Jaguar’s current troubles, its push to go green, and its aspirations to go even further up market. But the slightly disturbing news here is that we’ll see no new product from the brand for three solid years. Unlike Audi, there will be no overlap between electric and internal combustion vehicles, and given that Jaguar’s current offerings aren’t exactly hot of the presses, stepping to the side for such a long period seems like an ominous sign.
Another ominous sign? The company’s reinvention is being bet on a battery-electric platform that’s said to be exclusive to Jaguar. At this point, there’s no clue where this hypothetical platform will even come from, even if one thing about it is absolutely certain. That certainty, of course, is that it will be frighteningly expensive to develop, with cost outlays which will make running a few seasons of Formula 1 look a round at the local pub. For perspective, Volkswagen has allocated over 86 billion dollars to develop its next-gen tech.
Now, VW is going after a far, far, larger market than Jaguar is, so the cost will be proportionally more gruesome. But it makes me wonder where the money for such a broad reinvention of the brand will come from. Because as successful as corporate cousin Land Rover might be right now, that wing of the company still has its own future to think about, and given the unforgiving nature of the boardroom, I can see some steely-eyed business types thinking that massive investments in Jaguar would be throwing good money after bad. So my gut says the future of Jaguar is on perilously thin ice. Let me know if you think otherwise — I’d love to hear why.
Photos: Jaguar