Jaguar made waves when the British luxury car brand announced its “Reimagine” strategy with the plan focusing on transforming the brand into an all-electric brand by 2025. While the I-Pace went over like a soggy bowl of cereal in the minds of customers, the company is still determined to embrace this new path and is doubling down by axing five more models (six if you count the already axed F-type) to make room for the new EV arrivals.
Jaguar is cleaning house
In addition to the F-Type Jaguar also confirmed that it will be axing the XE, XF, XF Wagon, E-Pace and the I-Pace EV. The I-Pace’s departure seems surprising at first glance but it becomes apparent once you ask local Jaguar dealers about it with many of them being frustrated with the I-Pace’s ability to stay glued to their inventory lots instead of finding new homes with customers.
This frustration has also bled through to the top brass with Jaguar CEO Adrian Mardell telling investors that the models were barely making the company any money and the exec even called them “lower value” vehicles. While the XE, XF, and F-Type certainly fit the bill due to those three being traditional cars, the E-Pace being lumped into the same category is a sobering end to a compact CUV that was supposed to bring more Jaguar buyers to showrooms while also offering a gateway to the bigger F-Pace. Unfortunately, the E-Pace proved to be a bust and failed to be the gateway that Jaguar envisioned.
The only model to survive Jaguar’s purge is the F-Pace with the large SUV being the best-selling model that Jaguar currently has. The F-Paces days are also numbered but for now, the model will help keep the lights on at Jaguar even as the wrinkles of time start to show in its stylish exterior styling and tech-filled interior.
Brand is entering bespoke EV market
The mass axing of all of these models is also a sign of Jaguar ending an ill-fated experiment into being a mass-market luxury brand with the company once saying that it wanted to be on the same playing field as BMW, Audi, and Mercedes-Benz. While the company is waving the white flag on these efforts, it’s instead focusing on the bespoke EV market with Jaguar revealing that it will be building vehicles at a higher price point to draw in well-heeled buyers.
The first of these models will be a grand touring model that’s projected to appear later this year with a big SUV poised to make its appearance later on. Both models will have price tags that will start at over $100,000 and are poised to go after Bentley. However, while Jaguar is going all-in on the quick adoption of EVs, Bentley, and Volkswagen have been forced to play a more calculated approach to the segment with Bentley confirming that it will be selling hybrid vehicles for the immediate future with its EV adoption plans being pushed back.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.