Jaguar starts detailing its plan to move on from Audi and BMW and instead target Porsche and Bentley
Jaguar is reportedly preparing a trio of new-generation, high-end electric SUV models, all of which are set to be underpinned by a new bespoke ‘Panthera’ architecture in an effort to push upmarket and rattle the cage of more exclusive brands like Bentley.
The intel comes from Jaguar Land River (JLR) Vehicle Programmes executive director Nick Collins via a report published this week by AutoCar and confirms the new models will be revealed in 2024 and delivered to customers the following year.
According to Autocar, the new Jaguar SUV line-up, which will eventually replace the existing E-PACE, F-PACE and electric I-PACE SUVs and spearhead Jaguar’s rebirth as a dedicated EV brand from 2025, will attempt to mimic the success of the current Range Rover model hierarchy – Evoque, Velar, Sport and Range Rover – albeit without the emphasis on off-road ability.
The smallest Jaguar SUV is tipped to fill a similar role to the Range Rover Sport and will be around the same size as the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo wagon (or the Cross Turismo crossover version sold in Australia), and offered in both three- and five-door body styles as two distinct models.
Jaguar’s larger flagship electric SUV, meantime, will reportedly aim at the Chinese and US markets by riding on a 200mm-longer wheelbase, brining an even bigger and more opulent interior (especially in the rear) and come with a dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain as standard.
“I’m conscious we’ve been quiet on Jaguar, but that has been deliberate… we’ve been working like crazy on the new Jaguars with a fiercely dedicated team locked away from distractions,” Collins told Autocar.
“We had to do something very different, just as we did with the Defender, and that’s what we’re doing.
“But I can tell you the new cars are absolutely stunning and very thought-provoking propositions, in a good way.”
Collins wouldn’t be drawn any further on the design of the new Jaguar SUVs, but did let slip the new EVs would take to public roads within the next few months disguised as Range Rover Sports.
Jaguar’s push upmarket will predictably bring a reduction in output and sales, but the British car-maker hopes to offset its lower volumes with bigger profit margins thanks to the streamlined costs associated with a modular/scalable platform.
Just how extreme that volume reduction will be remains to be seen, but some reports have speculated output will be slashed by more than half to around 50,000-60,000 units per annum, while prices for the ‘entry-level’ model are tipped to start somewhere around the $150,000 mark.
The most expensive version of the flagship SUV, meanwhile, is expected to top $350,000 before it’s on the road, but Collins is keeping details quiet for a while longer.
“We won’t decide pricing until just before launch, and that’s years away, although of course we know perfectly well how we want to position the cars,” he said.
“My own view is that a great product defines its own pricing. How much we can charge is down to the quality of the job we do.”
Before then, however, the world will be treated to a series of super-exclusive high-performance special-editions based on the F-PACE SVR, the XE and XF sedans, and the F-TYPE two-door, the latter of which has been confirmed as being the brand’s “last-ever V8 sports car”.
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Keyword: Three new SUVs to lead Jaguar’s electric rebirth