Rumors of Jaguar’s death may be greatly exaggerated, or are they? Recent posts on social media claim to feature a letter from a Jaguar dealer that tells an owner of the brand’s demise. While we don’t tend to fall for shaky internet rumors, there’s enough smoke around Jaguar to warrant a closer look for fire.
The Facebook post that started the discussion landed on The Car Guys group. User Chris Henry pasted text they claim is from a dealer that said, in part, “New reports suggest that JLR (Jaguar-Land Rover) is working towards spinning Jaguar off to sell it as a separate business unit. My guess is they’ll find a Chinese backer looking to enter the market with some brand recognition. Their plan is for low volume production in the future that doesn’t fully support the existing dealer network.”
Despite the confidence behind these claims, there’s a whole lot of respectable reporting to refute it. Automotive News and Road and Track reported that Jaguar would shutter its production lines this summer, but noted that the automaker will have enough surplus inventory to keep dealers stocked until next year. That said, we don’t know how allocations will work or if the vehicles will be order-only.
At that point, Jaguar is expected to start shipping its next-generation electric vehicles, with the first set to debut later this year ahead of a 2025 release date. Sounds pretty definitive, no? Even so, it’s worth noting that the company is shedding dealers at an alarming pace, so the speculation isn’t coming from left field.
We’ll let Jaguar have the last word. The company itself told us, via a spokesperson: “Jaguar production at our Castle Bromwich site (XE, XF and F-TYPE) will come to an end in June 2024, followed by our Graz site (E-PACE and I-PACE) in December 2024.
F-PACE production at Solihull continues with no end date announced.
We have curated a range of exclusive specifications reflecting the richest options and engine mix of our XE, XF and F-TYPE models. Clients can find these curated specifications and pricing on our website and can purchase through our retail network. E-PACE, F-PACE and I-PACE are still available to build on the configurator.
In regards to our electrification strategy, our statement below: ‘Jaguar will be radically reimagined as an all-electric luxury brand by 2025. The first of three new Jaguars is a 4-door GT with a range of up to c. 435 miles, built in Solihull. Priced from £100k, it will go on sale 2024 with new Jaguars on the road in 2025.'”
[Image: Arcansel via Shutterstock]
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