Jaguar boss: electric reinvention has been ‘hugely frustrating’

“It’s been hugely frustrating – saying we’re going all EV then ‘nothing’.” That’s the admission from Jaguar’s new managing director Rawdon Glover about the brand’s current holding pattern of no new cars for five years amid a plan to go all electric… and extremely upmarket.

We’ll see a glimpse of Jaguar’s new design direction and “brand world” this winter, with an angular four-door fastback expected first, before a pair of SUVs. Glover, who took up the MD gig in March 2023, says the production car will offer a range of 430 miles/700km.

“Jaguar is at a crossroads,” says Rawdon. “Then-JLR CEO Thierry Bolloré said at the time [the plan to go all-EV was announced] that Jaguar had a choice to elevate itself out of the premium space [into being a super-luxury brand] and that choice has since been validated.”

Photography: Mark Riccioni/Lee Brimble

While it’s true that the luxury car scene is traditionally more recession-proof than the mainstream, it’s not without challenges: China’s powerhouse market is stalling and across the globe, the rollout of electric cars is faltering, with hybrid sales recovering market share.

“We decided on this structure in 2021, but cars don’t appear overnight,” says Rawdon. He’s bullish that Jaguar had to radically change, or face extinction. “We need to take [the brand] back to when we made beautiful desirable cars, not in huge numbers and not having huge numbers [of models] in the portfolio. Until recently we were up to six or seven models."

Rawdon explains Jaguar is heading back to its "spiritual home of three vehicles" – so don’t expect an EV hypercar to fight Rimac or anything remotely 'entry-level' from New Jag any time soon.

“It’s not just some new cars, it’s a complete brand reinvention,” the Jag boss insists. “With every decision we make, we ask ‘is this going to make people think about Jaguar the way we need them to?' If it doesn’t make them want to pay £120,000 we don’t do it.”

He admits that there’s no “playbook” for this process. No car brand in history has stopped selling cars for a year, deserted most of its current market segments and re-emerged as a Bentley-rivalling super-lux brand. But that, in short, is Jag’s plan.

As of now, you can still buy a new F-Pace, but sales will cease in November 2024, allowing for a “firebreak” between Old Jag and New Jag. Rawdon concedes this means that there are some dealers who will no longer sell Jaguars as a result. “We’ve had to do some very painful things but this is a long term plan.”

One of the tactics is to take inspiration from successful luxury brands – Rawdon mentions designer handbags as an example. “Luxury brands create irrational need. No-one needs a Hermes work bag,” he reasons. It’s a play that’s worked magnificently for Range Rover, propelling what was once the Land Rover range-topper to become a hyper-profitable sub-brand in its own right.

“Going EV only [means we need] a whole suite of EV services. Don’t treat [EVs] like an internal combustion car. You’ve got to have an integrated approach to charging and how to manage the client.” Rawdon notes I-Pace customers’ dissatisfaction with third-party home charging wallbox suppliers, and hints Jaguar will design a ‘beautiful’ wallbox for the cars which they will manage fitting of.

But what of a Tesla-style Jaguar charging network to ease the pain of unreliable, congested public chargers? Glover says that’s not on the agenda.

“We’ll have aggregated charging, where you have one membership to use all chargers – including access to the Tesla Superchargers.

"You have to remember 95 per cent of charging is done at home. For a car with a 700km range it’s going to be even more, so only a tiny proportion [of future Jaguar charging] will be public charging.”

So, expect less radio silence from Jaguar over the coming months, as the brand attempts possibly the most ambitious comeback in automotive history. Question is, as the world stutters on going all-in on EVs – can one of Britain’s most-loved carmakers pull it off?