New Jaguar EVs leaked

The World Car of the Year awards have inadvertently let slip that Jaguar is planning to build an all-electric J-PACE SUV to sit alongside its upcoming battery-powered Jaguar XJ limousine.

In a press release sent out over the weekend, the WCOTY committee also hinted that A-PACE and B-PACE Jaguars are under development as entry-level EV options and could succeed the slow-selling XE sedan.

British WCOTY members were ushered in to Jaguar Land Rover’s Coventry design studios and met with CEO Ralph Speth for a sneak-peak into the brand’s future EVs, though Jaguar insists the information was all embargoed.

Jaguar’s first foray into the world of electric cars netted it both European Car of the Year and World Car of the Year awards, plus WCOTY’s World Green Car and World Car Design of the Year trophies.

Jaguar has admitted it will have electrified options for every model currently under development, including the XE and the F-TYPE sports coupe and convertible, though that is understood to cover both plug-in hybrid and pure EV powertrains.

“Among them are the replacements for the current XE and F-TYPE, the all-new J-PACE SUV, plus the flagship model all-electric XJ, which will succeed the combustion version, which rolled off the production line for the last time on July 5,” the WCOTY press release read.

“Additionally, considerably less expensive ‘baby Jags’ (possibly badged A-PACE or B-PACE) willing and able to compete for coveted World Urban Car awards in the 2020s have not been ruled out.”

Like most OEMs, Jaguar insisted it would not immediately abandon petrol and diesel power in the transition to EVs, yet it won’t comment on strongly sourced rumours that it was preparing a deal with BMW to supply it with four- and six-cylinder engines from its Hams Hall plant in England.

A move to BMW engines would both circumvent the worst of any post-Brexit customs issues (the BMW engines are built in a MINI factory) and would bring a welcome end to its own Ingenium petrol four-cylinder engines.

Jaguar Land Rover and BMW already have a tie-up for plug-in hybrid development, with more than 200 JLR engineers seconded to Munich to work on the projects.

“I cannot tell you how proud I am of all the team involved in creating this car [the I-PACE],” Dr Speth told the WCOTY jurors.

“Our decision to create I-PACE started with an idea, two glasses of wine and a clean sheet of paper,” he revealed.

“The team from this produced a consequential designed and engineered vehicle using the freedom of new, pure-electric vehicle technology.

“The World Car organisation’s decision to award this 100 per cent-electric model an unprecedented three trophies demonstrates that we are on track to achieving our goal of Destination Zero -- that’s a world of zero emissions, zero accidents and zero congestion,” he said.