Speaking with investors during a meeting held in Gaydon, JLR CEO Adrian Mardell was candid about the current state of Jaguar. He admits past decisions have hurt the company because attempts to create a British BMW to appeal to as many luxury car buyers as possible have been unsuccessful. Doing so has downgraded the automaker to “mediocre” with “without any equity”. However, there are big plans to revitalize the Tata marque.
As you may have heard by now, Jaguar will be pushed upscale to compete with Porsche, Bentley and Maybach. It will reinvent itself as a pure electric brand with higher-margin, lower-volume products. Future vehicles will have opinion-breaking designs as Adrian Mardell says “we won’t worry about being loved by everyone.” He went on to say trying to please everyone was the “kiss of death” and that was what had caused the brand’s recent misfortune.
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You won’t find this EV at any JLR dealership but there are plans to sell the car in a “boutique” exclusively reserved for Jaguar products. North America is projected to be the main market for the revival of the brand. Mardell pointed out that the company “was very successful in North America 25 years ago” but that it changed because of “compromises and decisions we made”.
“There are 20 million millionaires in the US alone. So a lower volume, higher price position is absolutely the right position for Jaguar right now.”
As far as new models are concerned, Jaguar is developing the JEA platform that will power the first three EVs. Leading the way is the four-door GT with a maximum range of 700 kilometers (430 miles) and an estimated price starting at £100,000. That worked out to nearly $130,000 at the current exchange rate. For your money’s worth, you’ll get an electric car with more power than any other ICE Jag before it.
The mysterious model will be assembled at home in Solihull in the West Midlands, England. Additional details about the gran tourer will be revealed later this year ahead of a 2024 launch in select markets. Deliveries to customers are programmed to start in 2025.
