It must be admitted that this is a strategy that seems particularly risky and daring. But it is indeed the one adopted by the Jaguar Land Rover group for its Jaguar brand, in the midst of the transition to electric. Unlike some manufacturers who are gradually introducing zero-emission vehicles into their range, the Coventry firm is much more radical: since November 11, 2024, there are no longer any new Jaguars sent to its dealerships in the United Kingdom. .
This follows the phasing out in recent months of models that weren’t SUVs, from the XE and XF sedans to the F-Type coupes and roadsters. Only SUVs therefore remained, E-Pace, F-Pace and I-Pace. But even they are set to disappear from production lines by the end of 2024. And so now, only vehicles already in stock will continue to be sold by Jaguar. And this while waiting for the sequel, electric therefore, but not before… two years!
(Dis)favorable treatment
This is the first time since the Second World War that the British will not have new Jaguars to buy. And this forced pause will last until 2026, when the new electric products will arrive on the market. Unless they are postponed again, which has already been the case. As for the new Jaguars which leave the Austrian factory until next December, like the E-Pace and I-Pace, they will be sent to other markets. The F-Pace, produced in England, will disappear a little later than expected, at the beginning of 2025.
Why this (dis)favorable treatment from Jaguar towards its local market? Quite simply because in the United Kingdom, it is required that 22% of new cars sold do not pollute. However in reality, manufacturers are having a little difficulty reaching the objective: over the first three quarters of 2024, they reached on average 18% taking into account manufacturers whose shares are lower. Like Jaguar, which therefore prefers to stop everything, rather than pay fines.
Winning strategy?
For the moment, this period is a bit unusual since if Jaguar stops selling, before soon stopping producing, we do not yet know what awaits us by 2026. If not indeed that it will be electric. However, we should get a taste very quickly of what awaits us since in a few weeks, on December 2, 2024, Jaguar to unveil concept in Miami that will preview one of three battery-powered models arriving in 2 years. It now remains to be seen whether this strategy of disappearing from the radar for almost two years will be a win-win for Jaguar and will not have the opposite effect, with consumers turning to other brands in the meantime?
