Jaguar's EV reinvention is hugely frustrating, says company boss

Company boss confirmed that it will release an angular four-door fastback first, before introducing a pair of SUVs.

According to reports, Rawdon Glover, the new managing director of Jaguar, has admitted that the plan for the British marque to become an electric-only brand has been "hugely frustrating."

Jaguar announced its plans to restructure in 2021. Since then, the brand has been on a holding pattern with almost no new cars. Glover stated, "It’s been hugely frustrating – saying we’re going all EV then ‘nothing’."

He added, "Then-JLR CEO Thierry Bolloré said at the time [the plan to go all-EV was announced] that Jaguar had a choice to elevate itself out of the premium space [into being a super-luxury brand] and that choice has since been validated."

Having said that, he admits that despite luxury cars traditionally being more recession-proof than mainstream cars, they have their own challenges. Glover stated, "We decided on this structure in 2021, but cars don’t appear overnight." He further mentioned, "We need to take [the brand] back to when we made beautiful, desirable cars, not in huge numbers and not having huge numbers [of models] in the portfolio. Until recently, we were up to six or seven models."

The Jaguar boss insists that customers cannot expect an EV hypercar or anything remotely "entry-level" from the brand anytime soon. Instead, the company will head back to its "spiritual home of three vehicles." Rawdon even goes on to say that the brand is undergoing a complete reinvention, so it's not just about three new vehicles. He stated, "With every decision we make, we ask, ‘Is this going to make people think about Jaguar the way we need them to?' If it doesn’t make them want to pay £120,000, we don’t do it."

Talking about the three cars, the company boss confirmed that it will release an angular four-door fastback first, before introducing a pair of SUVs. Also, production versions of all three cars will offer a range of up to 700 km on a full charge.

Source: TopGear