Luxury car brand Jaguar has gone back to the drawing board. In a bid to potentially reinvent itself as the European equivalent of Tesla, the company has announced that its range of cars will be fully electric by 2025.
It follows its sister brand, Land Rover brand which will produce its first all-electric model in 2024 and will also aim to become fully electric.
Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by Indian conglomerate Tata Motors, will also shift its car production from JLR’s Castle Bromwich factory east of the central England city of Birmingham to nearby Solihull.
The move follows Bentley Motors, which has committed to making its range fully electric by 2030, General Motors which is aimign for a zero emission line-up by 2035.
The UK plans to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.
Chief Executive Thierry Bollore, said “We have all the ingredients at our disposal to reimagine the business and the experiences our customers seek, to reimagine to benchmark of luxury.”
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the British car industry’s lobby group, said the announcement represents “an injection of confidence” into the sector, which has suffered over the past year during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Its roadmap to a future that is built around sustainability, with electrified and hydrogen models as well as investment in connected and digital technologies, aligns with government ambition and increasing consumer expectations,” said the SMMT’s chief executive, Mike Hawes.
However, he said the U.K. will need to improve its competitiveness in light of the “fierce” global competition going on in the shift to electric cars, not least from the likes of Tesla.
“Government must ensure advanced manufacturing has its full support, with a policy framework and plan for growth that reduces costs, accelerates domestic battery production and electrified supply chains, and incentivises R&D and skills development,” he said.
