The Jaguar boss has defended the carmaker’s decision to stop selling new cars for a year ahead of its bold transition to electric vehicles.
The British brand has stopped producing all petrol and diesel models for the British market for the first time since the Second World War, ending its 102-year relationship with the internal combustion engine.
This comes ahead of its switch to battery power from 2026 and its dealers closed order books to new customers last week, leaving Jaguar with no new cars on sale during what it has called a “sunset period.” “.
Asked if it was a mistake to take a 12-month break from the market, CEO Rawdon Glover said it had always been part of a “strategic decision” as Jaguar wanted a “rest” period for dealers to and customers could prepare for their electric brand change.
Jaguar is now completely reliant on its used car retail network to survive the next 12 months.
Jaguar CEO Rawdon Glover (pictured) defended the company’s decision not to sell any new cars for 12 months as it prepares to become an electric-vehicle-only luxury brand from 2026.
Last week, the entire Jaguar dealer network closed order books to new customers
While many automakers have curbed their ambitions to go electric this decade, Jaguar is bucking the trend.
Its headstrong approach will gain momentum next month when it unveils a concept version of the first all-new electric vehicle that it will fully unveil late next year.
In preparation, it has already finished building existing models for UK customers, with the British-made XE and XF sedans and the F-Type sports car ending in May.
Production of its largest model, the F-Pace, will continue in Solihull for the time being, although it will only be produced for overseas markets. A spokesperson for the brand confirmed that UK-spec production ended this month.
And while manufacturing of the E-Pace compact SUV and its only electric car, the I-Pace, continues in Graz, Austria, until the end of the year, its UK allocation has also run out.
Jaguar says availability of the I-Pace continues, but only for “corporate customers until 2025.”
It means Jaguar has essentially stopped all car sales in Britain for the first time since the Second World War.
Jaguar stopped producing all gasoline and diesel models before switching to electric power.
Production of the right-hand drive F-Pace SUV ended in October
Glover said the year-long exit from the new car market was part of a scheduled “break.”
Next Tuesday, Jaguar bosses will shed some light on the brand’s new brand identity and how it will address the dramatic turnaround of the business.
Ahead of the announcement, Glover said the year-long exit from the new car market was part of a scheduled “break” to “give customers and dealers a chance to reset as we move into this new era for the brand,” according to Car dealer magazine.
A Jaguar spokesperson told This is Money: “As part of a planned wind-down period for our current Jaguar vehicles, new car sales in the UK have come to an end as we prepare to relaunch the Jaguar brand from December 2024.
‘Ahead of our future Jaguar collection, we have intentionally created a breathing space where the new brand and new vision can come to life.
“UK customers will be able to purchase approved pre-owned current Jaguar models through our UK retail network, and for existing Jaguar customers, service, repairs and warranty work will continue through our retail network. authorized Jaguar workshops”.
Jaguar’s decision to stop selling cars means it is now completely reliant on its used network
Many automakers have curbed their electric ambitions, Jaguar is bucking the trend
Jaguar is driving in a different direction than its rivals
Jaguar’s decision to press ahead with its electric transition is a stark contrast to some of its biggest rivals.
Last week, Bentley became the latest to backtrack on its commitment to electric vehicles, confirming it had delayed its plan to become an all-electric car company by five years to 2035. It also said its first all-electric car that will arrive in 2026 will not be a slim model. luxury coupe but a large, premium SUV.
In September, Volvo announced that it would not become an all-electric car brand from 2030, as it had previously promised.
The Swedish brand, which is now major competition for JLR in the premium vehicle segment, said it now aims for 90 to 100 percent of its global sales to be purely electric or plug-in hybrids by the end of the decade.
Bentley confirmed earlier this week that its plan to sell only electric vehicles from 2030 would be delayed.
Volvo Cars chief executive Jim Rowan (pictured) said in September it had become clear that “customers and markets are moving at different speeds of adoption” towards electric cars.
Luxury carmaker Porsche also announced this fall that it would delay its plans as a result of the transition to electric vehicles taking longer than it thought.
It has softened its targets for 80 per cent of sales to be fully electric by 2030 and confirmed it will continue to sell the current Cayenne SUV with combustion engines over the next decade.
In recent months, Toyota has confirmed it will significantly reduce its electric vehicle production volumes by 2026, while the Renault boss said carmakers were not on the “right trajectory” to go fully electric by 2035, the date EU proposal to ban new petrol and diesel cars. , five years after the deadline set by the United Kingdom.
Ford bosses said in July that it won’t go all-electric in 2030, despite claiming it would do so by February 2021.
Aston Martin has also said it is delaying the launch of its first electric vehicle in response to declining demand for new electric cars.
The industry’s massive pullback on electric vehicle promises also comes against a backdrop of brands cutting prices on their existing electric cars in an effort to boost sales, announcements of extended life cycles for gasoline cars and some brands temporarily closing battery vehicle production lines due to shortage. of the demand.
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