Currently reading: Jaguar boss signs off plan for radical new EV line-up

New boss Thierry Bolloré sits down with Autocar to talk about an upmarket push for the British brand

The future range of all-electric Jaguars has now been decided, and work is ongoing to source or create the architecture that will underpin the reinvented British brand’s models from 2025.

Speaking to Autocar in his first one-on-one interview since joining Jaguar Land Rover last September, boss Thierry Bolloré said that there will be a “family” of more upmarket, luxury Jaguars, positioned where nobody else sits in the market, as part of his Reimagine plan for JLR.

Bolloré pointed to the Range Rover line’s positioning (as a maker of uniquely sized and styled cars priced far above what might be considered its conventional rivals) as the kind of area that Jaguar will sit in, and that the brand won’t seek to create targeted rivals to the likes of Porsche, Bentley or even Aston Martin.

“Look at Range Rover,” said Bolloré. “It’s satisfactory on price and profit levels, and we haven’t yet reached the ceiling. The price is extraordinary, and we have the volumes.”

Range Rover is “unique in its positioning” said Bolloré, adding that the SUV sub-brand is still selling in large volumes.

He explained that the plan for Jaguar is to create “distinct cars with no overlap”. They will be “really modern luxury cars that are the copy of nothing in style or design, the top of technology and refinement, but not looking backwards”.

19 Jag i pace render final copy

“In desire, it’s similar to Range Rover. We enjoy this type of positioning for Range Rover,” he continued, adding that, although he is “not looking for volume” for the revived Jaguar brand, he believes there is space for higher sales figures.

While Range Rover provides the business model for Jaguar to pursue, its cars won’t be SUVs or crossovers, instead uniquely shaped, lower-slung cars with no direct rivals.

Bolloré explained that JLR chief creative officer Gerry McGovern organised a design contest within the firm’s newly united design team to create inspiration for future Jaguars. The team was split into three, and in just three months, they created designs and models that would normally take 18 months. Bolloré said this produced “incredible creativity” and that the design direction and family of models for Jaguar was now decided.

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“The proportions are crucial to get what we want from Jaguar,” said Bolloré. “The platform is a consequence of proportions we’ve decided on. They’re absolutely bespoke.”

To that end, Jaguar is now looking for an all-electric architecture that is “easy to change in size as necessary” and will support its model plans, but it’s yet to decide whether to create its own or source one from a third party.

A “permanently and significantly updated” Jaguar I-Pace SUV will be the only Jaguar to survive into the new generation of models due from 2025, but it will be considered separately to the firm’s new-generation cars.

All other Jaguar models will continue to be updated but won’t be replaced at the end of their lives, and the firm’s Castle Bromwich factory will then be repurposed to consolidate various other JLR sites dotted around the English Midlands that already perform the same jobs, such as prototype builds.

18 Xe p300 awd 2019 8877o

Explaining why Jaguar is in need of such a dramatic reinvention, Bolloré said that it’s “damaged”. He added: “The cars have never been as good as in 2021, but the positives of the brand aren’t appreciated compared with the competition.

“Today, when you listen to customers, they see [a Jaguar], like the car and test the car, and they still go and buy an Audi or a BMW. That’s the problem. People buy the originals, then. We aren’t the originals. We have to get the positioning of Jaguar much different, higher and more original.”

On the decision to axe the electric XJ replacement just before launch, Bollore said it was the “toughest decision in the process, absolutely” but that the only thing it had in common with Jaguar’s future was that it was all-electric.

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Mark Tisshaw

mark-tisshaw-autocar
Title: Editor

Mark is a journalist with more than a decade of top-level experience in the automotive industry. He first joined Autocar in 2009, having previously worked in local newspapers. He has held several roles at Autocar, including news editor, deputy editor, digital editor and his current position of editor, one he has held since 2017.

From this position he oversees all of Autocar’s content across the print magazine, autocar.co.uk website, social media, video, and podcast channels, as well as our recent launch, Autocar Business. Mark regularly interviews the very top global executives in the automotive industry, telling their stories and holding them to account, meeting them at shows and events around the world.

Mark is a Car of the Year juror, a prestigious annual award that Autocar is one of the main sponsors of. He has made media appearances on the likes of the BBC, and contributed to titles including What Car?Move Electric and Pistonheads, and has written a column for The Sun.

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midamericaev 25 August 2021

Fundamentally JLR needs to reimagine its management, specifically how they implement design, quality control and marketing. Its corporate culture needs to change, a far more difficult task for Bollore and McGovern. Current leadership is tethered to futile methods of the past. The opportunity before JLR lies in building compelling designs, quality craftsmanship, and strong customer engagement, but the question remains, can they achieve the outcome.

sgseliger 15 July 2021

This guy is so full of shit it's unbelievable. He doesn't care about his actual customers. My attorney currently has 6 pending cases with JLR North America, which they are completely ignoring. They've tried to kill me by putting me back in a dangerous vehicle after it was in the shop for 130 days. JLR lets their franchisees run wild and then we see an out-of-touch CEO touting their new commitment to reliability. Why don't you start by taking care of your existing customers? That's how you create the kind of brand loyalty that Audi and BMW enjoy, not by promising to do better in the future. We've been hearing that for 50 years, Jaguar. 

sgseliger 15 July 2021

This guy is so full of shit it's unbelievable. He doesn't care about his actual customers. My attorney currently has 6 pending cases with JLR North America, which they are completely ignoring. They've tried to kill me by putting me back in a dangerous vehicle after it was in the shop for 130 days. JLR lets their franchisees run wild and then we see an out-of-touch CEO touting their new commitment to reliability. Why don't you start by taking care of your existing customers? That's how you create the kind of brand loyalty that Audi and BMW enjoy, not by promising to do better in the future. We've been hearing that for 50 years, Jaguar.