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Just yesterday we wrote about the Heisenbergian uncertainty surrounding the future of the
. A new report in
Autocar
prompts us to consider extending that ambiguity to the entire
brand. The UK magazine reports the automaker’s product planners have devised a 10-year plan to switch to a pure
lineup of cars and
. According to
Autocar
‘s sources, this is a planning exercise and doesn’t have the green light, but it’s “fairly advanced” and has adherents inside the company.
The first shot fired would be an all-electric
replacement. That sedan, a “no-holds-barred
” to challenge the
and
, would provide emissions-free motoring before the
and
come along with their EV propositions. Around 2023, an EV crossover a touch larger than the full-sized
would replace both the
and
sedans. Two years later, a new midsized
would debut as both the
and
fade out. And two years after that, around 2027, the J-Pace luxury crossover would sigh its last ICE gasp.
And what about the F-Type? The report says “with no replacement for F-Type in the works,” an electric
“is also a possibility.” There’s no mention of the
revival.
Right now,
sells seven models — four cars and three crossovers. As the
Autocar
article’s written, come 2027 Jaguar would have an electric
sedan, a full-sized EV crossover, the I-Pace, and perhaps an electric sports car. That’s a brave new world — one we’re not sure Jaguar
could survive in.
Problem is that Jaguar and its dealers are having plenty of problems now. Chinese-market volatility, the cloud around
, and Brexit uncertainty have contributed to a sales slump so dire that Jaguar’s
Castle Bromwich plant is going to a three-day workweek
for the rest of the year. The sales flu has spread to
, too, the brand’s
Solihull plant closing for two weeks
to realign dealer inventory. Considering all that, and with no easy relief in sight, the product planners are apparently debating whether a new, traditional three-model sedan range is worth the investment.
The upside of going all-electric is said to be higher sales, with internal estimates supposing 300,000 units annually. Last year Jaguar sold 178,500 units. The marque could rake in larger profit margins on those sales, too, thanks to premium buyers being ready to shell out big ducats for EVs. Perhaps best of all, an all-EV Jaguar range would dramatically reduce JLR’s average corporate
, potentially eliminating the engineering and design contortions
faces in order to maintain Land Rover brand values and adhere to regulations. Autocar says the off-road brand could draw the line at 48V
systems if Jaguar sold only
.
The idea of Jaguar — birthplace of legendary V6 and V12 engines that powered legendary cars — becoming the first mainstream OEM to go EV-only seems too wild to consider, but we could say that about a lot of automotive industry news right now. So we’ll just lay this here as a marker we can return to in 10 years and have a pint and a laugh, or a cry, about.
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