Is Jaguar’s Shift To Super-Luxury EVs A Smart Move For The Future?

Jaguar’s revamp will be led by a four-door electric GT with a range of up to 430 miles

Jaguar, as we know it, is about to die as the company pivots to become a pure-electric, ‘super luxury’ brand, moving into the territory of marques like Bentley. This is a daring undertaking as existing models will be phased out and some markets won’t get a new Jag for roughly a year.

That sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Jaguar believes it’s the best strategy for the future. As Managing Director Rawdon Glover recently explained to Top Gear, the brand is at a “crossroads” and needed to “elevate itself out of the [mass] premium space.”

More: Jaguar Confirms Electric 4-Door GT With 430 Mile Range And $125K Starting Price

It’s no secret that Jaguar struggled to compete with German rivals and numbers have been pretty grim. U.S. sales have fallen every year since 2019 and the company only sold 8,348 vehicles in America last year. The situation isn’t much better in Europe as sales fell from 84,219 units in 2018 to 23,923 units in 2022.

Those numbers will likely plummet when the company starts their “firebreak,” which will separate the current era from the new one. During this time, the automaker will rely on the F-Pace and dealers won’t have much to sell. Some are expected to throw in the towel and Glover acknowledged there will be some “very painful things” as part of the move upmarket.

However, he believes the strategy is the right move as it will lead to the complete reinvention of the brand. Glover also told the publication, “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 ($156,890) we don’t do it.”

While the wait has been “hugely frustrating,” Jaguar will reportedly show a concept before the end of the year. Details are limited, but the company has previously confirmed they’re working on a four-door GT that will be the most powerful Jag ever created. It will ride on the all-new Jaguar Electric Architecture (JEA) and offer a range of up to 430 miles (700 km).

It will be the star of a reduced lineup consisting of three vehicles, including at least one SUV, all built on the same JEA platform. That’s a far cry from today, but Glover said they need to go back to the days when “we made beautiful desirable cars, not in huge numbers and not having huge numbers in the portfolio.”