Jaguar Land Rover CEO Thierry Bollore in late February made the shock announcement that Jaguar will be transformed into a fully electric brand as soon as 2025.
Part of that transformation will see current model lines phased out at the end of their respective product cycles and new ones, positioned more upmarket and designed around a Jaguar-exclusive platform, introduced.
Unfortunately the plans mean some new Jaguars already in the pipeline have been canceled. Bollore has already confirmed that an electric XJ originally due in 2020 (prototype shown below) has been canceled, and Automotive News (subscription required) reported last week that a related road-biased model from Land Rover doing the rounds as the Road Rover, as well as an electric J-Pace three-row crossover are also likely dead.
Because the vehicles were already at a late stage of development, JLR will write of approximately $1.4 billion related to their investment, Chief Financial Officer Adrian Mardell said last week during an investor meeting, without mentioning the specific vehicles, according to Automotive News.
2021 Jaguar XJ spy shots - Photo credit: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
Mardell reportedly said the tough decision was made to guarantee JLR would be able to stay on the right side of future emissions regulations, and to provide Jaguar with a new platform with leading-edge EV technology. It's possible Jaguar may source the platform for its future EVs from another company.
All three of the canceled vehicles were to be based on JLR's upcoming MLA (Modular Longitudinal Architecture) platform designed for both internal-combustion engines and battery power. Under the new plans, the MLA platform will be the exclusive domain of Land Rover which will use it for larger vehicles. It debuts shortly in a next-generation Range Rover.
Land Rover will also get a second modular platform capable of internal-combustion or battery power, which will be used for smaller vehicles, namely the next-generation Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport due around 2024.
Unlike Jaguar, Land Rover will offer vehicles with internal-combustion engines even beyond 2030, albeit in hybrid configuration only by then. As for EVs, Land Rover has said its first will arrive in 2024 and five more will be added by 2026.
by Viknesh Vijayenthiran
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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