Jaguar to launch plug-in hybrid models within 18 months

Jaguar will precede its very first electric car with a host of plug-in hybrid models, it has been revealed, the first of which will arrive to showrooms within 18 months.

Speaking at the unveiling of the I-PACE, the marque's pioneering electric SUV, technical engineering director Dr Wolfgang Ziebart told Australian journalists that Jaguar will first step into electrification in the form of plug-in hybrid technology before moving onto the fully-fledged electric car in 2018.

"That technology is not an alternative, it's an ‘as well as' situation," he clarified.

"We will have plug-in hybrid technology very soon, even I think ahead of electrification. Very soon."

The form and size of Jaguar's future electric family remains unclear, but stakeholders have already conceded SUVs are more compatible with the architecture because of their popularity and packaging traits; namely, being able to accommodate thick battery cells in the floor due to an increased ride height.

What's clear is that Jaguar and Land Rover will both share in the plug-in hybrid spoils.

"What we'll have across Jaguar and Land Rover families, as well as more efficient petrol and diesel engines, we'll be rolling out plug-in hybrids," a JLR spokesman said.

The newly-announced plug-in hybrid family will be based on existing JLR platforms such as the aluminium intensive XE, XF and F-PACE, it is understood. Meanwhile the I-PACE features a dedicated architecture that is designed and packaged for pure electric propulsion.

"By 2020, half of Jaguar Land Rover models will have the option of electrification," a JLR spokesman said.

"Be that full electric, plug-in hybrid or mild hybrid."

As it stands, Jaguar and Land Rover are one of the remaining global car makers not to venture into hybrid technology. The British car makers have relied on highly efficient diesels to play the green card; a strategy they hope to significantly bolster in the coming months.