Electric Jaguar XJ replacement cancelled

New Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) boss Thierry Bollore has confirmed plans to launch the pure-electric Jaguar XJ limousine in 2021 have been scrapped.

The decision to kill off the new Jaguar XJ just months before it was launched comes on the same day that the new JLR CEO declared that the Tata-owned British car-maker would be transformed into a pure-electric vehicle brand by 2025.

Believed to be in the very final prototype stage, the Jaguar XJ has been frequently spotted testing on public roads, with the development mules indicating the battery-powered alternative to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class was set for a long, wide, low stance that's reminiscent of a performance sedan.

Ultra-thin LED headlights, a large Jaguar-style grille and a full-width rear LED light bar were all features incorporated into the luxurious four-door's design.

Announcing the shock news the electric Jaguar XJ was to be dropped, Bollore said: "Although the nameplate may be retained, the planned Jaguar XJ replacement will not form part of the line-up, as the brand looks to realise its unique potential.” 

The full reasons behind dropping the XJ so late in the day after investing many tens of millions of dollars readying it for sale have not been fully explained but it's thought the chief reason centres on how the big Jag was developed and where it is made.

During his speech, the former Renault CEO revealed that in future all Jaguar models would migrate to an all-new EMA architecture that has been developed specifically for electrified vehicles.

Crucially, Jaguars that sit on the EMA platform will be made at JLR's Halewood plant, outside of Liverpool, which currently produces the Range Rover Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

The facility will be fully retooled for electrification.

The Jaguar XJ, meanwhile, was developed to sit on JLR's existing MLA platform that will underpin the next Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.

The difficulty is the XJ was set to be made at the car-maker's Castle Bromwich site, but Bollore said despite plans to keep all its factories, the Birmingham plant will be repurposed as part of cost-cutting measures that could see car production end there and be replaced by a new battery-making facility within the plant.

With a lack of capacity elsewhere, the Jaguar XJ's fate was sealed.

The flagship Jaguar is now set to be reimagined yet again as a pure-electric luxury vehicle, but JLR's newly installed French boss refuses to say what shape it may take.

As part of its radical restructuring plans and move to pure-electric vehicles only, the fate of other models in the brand's line-up now seem at risk of never being replaced, including the Jaguar F-TYPE.

In future, Jaguar and Land Rover will chase profit rather than volume, says Bollore, vowing to "right-size" JLR while reorganising it and simplifying every aspect of the business.

That said, in a bid to become cash positive without debt, Bollore admitted he's still aiming for double-digit growth following its COVID-hampered third-quarter results.

The news that Jaguar has a future follows fevered speculation the British brand could be cast aside in an even more radical restructuring regime.

The 85-year-old brand has struggled to survive in an increasingly competitive environment in which core vehicles, like the XE and XF sedan, plus small SUVs like the E-PACE, have disappointed in the sales charts.

Jaguar has also failed to make an impact in the Chinese market.

In the short term, Bollore remarked that he believed the Jaguar I-PACE had "huge potential" and that the car-maker would implement plans to make it "better and better" which suggests a facelift, or reskin of the battery-powered Jag is in the offing, along with many more technical improvements.