Jaguar’s electric future has been pushed back.
The British automaker’s managing director, Rawdon Glover, confirmed to ABC News earlier this week that company’s eagerly anticipated next-generation EV will no longer debut this year. The executive also revealed that the futuristic grand tourer’s controversial look is supposed to be divisive.
Last fall, Jaguar announced that it was phasing out its entire lineup of existing gas-, hybrid-, and battery-powered vehicles and going all-electric. Then, in early December, at Art Basel Miami, the company offered up a first glimpse at this new wave of cars and SUVs, when it unveiled a stretched-out, four-door grand tourer concept called the Type 00. A full reveal, which was to include technical details, was to follow sometime this year, but has now been pushed back until next year.
“We’ll unveil it next year and start taking orders,” Glover told the network. “Then deliveries will start relatively soon after that.”
The company’s managing director did have more to talk about than the delay, though. When asked if marque would continue to produce the kind of sports cars that it built its name on after going all-electric, Glover noted that the GT would be “most powerful Jaguar ever.” He also confirmed that the $130,000 starting price thrown around last year remains the target for the finished EV.
One thing we do know for certain, is that the EV, whenever it does arrive, will sport a bold appearance that divides opinion. And that, Glover told ABC, is the point of the elongated coupe’s distinctive look.
“It’s OK to be polarizing. We’re not looking for everybody to say, ‘That’s nice,’” he said. “I think great design does polarize, whether that’s in fashion or architecture or whatever else. So having the confidence to say this is what we think the 21st-century Jaguar should look like and then sticking to that is very important.”
The Type 00’s unorthodox look may seem like a big gamble to some, but it could also be just what Jaguar needs. The company’s fortunes have flagged in recent decades, so its good to see it set out to make distinctive vehicles again. It remains to be seen if it will work out, but it’s heartening that Jaguar is willing to find out.
