Category Archives: Jaguar Land Rover

EV sales stalling as customers left waiting more than a year for a car

May 16, 2019Audi, Electric Cars, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Kona Electric, News, Reviews and Comment, Niro EV, Smart, Tesla, VolkswagenRepost

Britain’s electric vehicle revolution is being hampered by a “bottleneck” in global battery production, as demand far outstrips supply of zero-emission vehicles.

An investigation by the Press Association found that some dealers were telling customers they could be waiting more than a year if they placed an order for an EV today, with some manufacturers confirming they couldn’t guarantee the number of vehicles coming to the UK in the future.

Kia and Hyundai appear to be the worst affected, with the former’s e-Niro and latter’s Kona and Ioniq Electric experiencing 12-month-plus wait times.

Jaguar, Tesla, Nissan, Smart, Audi and Volkswagen are all also experiencing delays with their electric vehicle offerings of between two and five months.

A Kia spokesperson blamed global demand and battery supply, calling the e-Niro “a victim of its own success” and adding that the South Korean firm’s 2019 UK allocation of about 800 cars sold out within two weeks of going on sale in January.

He said: “The simple fact is our battery suppliers cannot make battery packs quickly enough for the demand, and if we haven’t got battery packs, we cannot sell the cars.”

Both Kia and its sister company Hyundai said they were taking reservations for 2020 deliveries and would contact interested customers once pricing and delivery time frames were clearer.

Jaguar I-Pace wins 2019 European Car of the Year

March 18, 2019Electric Cars, I-PACE, Jaguar Land Rover, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The electric Jaguar I-Pace has claimed a narrow victory in the European Car of the Year award, edging out the Alpine A110.

The British firm’s electric SUV finished level on points with the A110 in the jury voting and was declared the winner after a tie-break based on how many judges had given a first-place vote to each car. The I-Pace received 18 first-place votes, compared with 16 for the A110.

It is the first time in the history of the event that two cars have finished tied after the main jury vote and the first time a Jaguar has won the award.

Jaguar design boss Ian Callum said: “Why are people still surprised that electric cars win these awards? This is the future. We’d better all accept that.”

He added: “This was a wonderful car for the team to design and work on, because it’s a unique new car on a unique platform. For me, after 40 years in the business, this is the most exciting car I’ve ever had the chance to work on.”

Jaguar i-Pace wins UK Car of the Year 2019 award

March 11, 2019Electric Cars, I-PACE, Jaguar Land Rover, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The electric Jaguar i-Pace is the 2019 UK Car of the Year, after a closely fought battle with three other manufacturers.

Having been named the Best Executive car when the category winners were announced in February, the Jaguar was pitted against the 11 other triumphant new cars to fight it out for the top accolade of overall winner.

It is the third time in six years of the UK Car of the Year Awards that the overall victor has been battery-powered. John Challen, director of the UK Car of the Year Awards, said:

“As manufacturers take electric vehicles more seriously, Jaguar is leading the pack with the i-Pace, which offers fantastic range and performance as well as a stylish and spacious interior for driver and passengers.

“The UK Car of the Year Awards judges are always keen to recognise innovation and that is certainly the case in 2019.”

Collecting the UK Car of the Year Awards 2019 trophy, Rawdon Glover, Jaguar Land Rover MD, said:

“This latest major award for the i-Pace is something we can all be extremely proud of. This car was conceived, designed and engineered in Britain, so to have a selection of the nation’s leading automotive journalists vote it as the overall UK Car of the Year against some stiff competition is a special moment for us.”

The Electric 2019 Jaguar I-Pace Feels Just the Right Amount of Futuristic

February 10, 2019Electric Cars, I-PACE, Jaguar Land Rover, News, Reviews and CommentRepost

The 2019 Jaguar I-Pace is advertised as an SUV, but it’s really more like a hatchback.

And a luxury sedan. Actually, the design that makes it hard to classify also creates one of the most versatile vehicles ever. The fact that it’s electric makes it slightly annoying to own, but quite satisfying to drive.

About 230 miles of range electric means this Jag can’t exactly do everything. But what it does do, it seems to do well.

(Full Disclosure: Jaguar arranged for an I-Pace to be left with me for a weekend. I returned it with enough charge for the nice delivery folks to get home.)

Before undertaking a big transformation in the past decade, Jaguar was one of the more anachronistic car companies you could point to. This company built its whole brand on big displacement sedans, swaths of soft leather and hood ornaments. The chrome cats got moved to the trunks, but Jaguar’s still trading in signature exhaust notes and the average American’s assumption that all things English are fancy.

Suffice it to say, that makes the I-Pace is the most abnormal Jaguar we’ve ever seen. And for the same reason, it’s also perhaps the most interesting.

Jaguar can’t exactly abandon the look it’s worn for over 80 years in one fell swoop, but it had to do something dramatic to stay relevant in the luxury market while electric cars are hot and so are global temperature averages. And as a result of hustling to market, Jaguar’s only major rival in the practical luxury EV segment at this very moment is Tesla.

That will change as Audi, Mercedes, BMW, Volkswagen and even Cadillac plan a big onslaught of EVs, starting soon. But Jag is one of the first at the table, so let’s see what its version of the future looks like.

Lease costs for electric vehicles fall in 2018

January 22, 2019BMW, e-Golf, Electric Cars, I-PACE, i3, Jaguar Land Rover, Leaf, News, Reviews and Comment, Nissan, Renault, Sales, Volkswagen, ZOE, ZOE Z.E. 40Repost

Leasing costs of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have fallen throughout 2018 according to data experts at Cap HPI.

The study looked at five of the best-selling models in the UK and discovered that monthly lease costs had fallen by 9.5% on average.

The UK’s best-selling electric car, the Nissan Leaf saw monthly lease values fall by 6.6% between January and November 2018. Monthly lease prices for the Renault Zoe fell by 16% between June and November.

Between in the 12 months up to November 2018, the BMW i3 saw lease prices drop by 9.2%. The Volkswagen e-Golf saw prices drop 14% over the same period.

The Jaguar I-Pace saw the smallest price drop with a fall of only 1.7% since April 2018.

Mark Turnbull, global head of consulting at Cap HPI, said: “Over the next few years the new price of BEVs will come down as more affordable ‘mainstream’ model ranges are introduced by many manufacturers.

“Used buyer perception will continue to improve as battery ranges are extended and charging times are reduced, and electric car technology proves to be robust and reliable. So subject to adequate investment in charging infrastructure, and positive government legislation, I believe their residual values will be stronger.

“A pincer movement of lower new prices and improved RVs will mean less depreciation in pound terms, and cheaper lease rates will speed up the adoption of this technology.”

Jaguar I-PACE = #1 Vehicle (Not Just EV) in Netherlands in December 2018!

January 19, 2019Electric Cars, I-PACE, Jaguar Land Rover, Model 3, News, Reviews and Comment, Sales, TeslaRepost

The Jaguar I-PACE was the best selling vehicle (of any type) in December, while the Tesla Model S was the #1 plug-in vehicle for all of 2018.

December had 6,232 plug-in vehicle registrations in the Netherlands, a four-fold increase compared to the same month last year and the market’s best month since December ’16. The sales total translates into a stratospheric 31% plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) share in December, pulling the 2018 PEV share to 6%, a great result, especially when we realise that BEVs represented 89% of PEV registrations in 2018 and 98% in December alone.

Of course, the higher taxation of expensive BEVs in 2019 is the major reason for this surge, but something tells me (ahem, Tesla Model 3 …) that this exponential growth is set to continue through 2019.

This good market performance was the result of three exceptional individual results, starting with the Best Seller of the Month, the Jaguar I-PACE, which delivered 2,621 units, not only a new all-time record for a BEV, but also the first time that a 100% electric vehicle became the best selling model in the mainstream market.

Electric Cars Sales Are Forecasted To Dramatically Rise in 2019

January 17, 2019Electric Cars, I-PACE, Jaguar Land Rover, News, Reviews and Comment, SalesRepost

Latest electric cars sales results show we may expect a dramatic rise this year. Lead times should increase too.

In 2018 the electric vehicle segment grew by 10%. If we look at available figures, we’ll see, that one in every 100 cars sold in November 2018 was pure electric. Compared to the same month of 2017, it is almost by 70% more.

Experts have advised customers to make orders for EVs promptly to beat lengthening lead times.

A period from placing an order and its delivery to a customer (lead time) vary from 10 weeks to half a year for new electric cars, depending on a model.

For example, the lead time for the Jaguar I-Pace (pictured) is 6 month, for the popular Hyundai Kona Electric – up to 10 months, the Hyundai Ioniq – 4 month, for the Volkswagen e-Golf – 18 weeks.

As for the all-electric Kia Soul, a small number of vehicles left in showrooms, as a newer model will replace the current one this year. Supplies are running low.

Will SUVs Breathe New Life Into The Electric Car Market?

December 8, 2018Electric Cars, EQC EV, I-PACE, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes, Model X, News, Reviews and Comment, TeslaRepost

After decades of ups and downs, electricity is finally emerging as the fuel that will propel the planet into the future as more governments look to address their pollution problems by phasing out vehicles that run on fossil fuels.

As a result, automakers are scampering to flood the market with electric cars, trucks and, especially, SUVs over the next few years.

Nowhere is this more evident than at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, which will officially open to the public on November 30. Almost every automaker that is displaying at the downtown convention center, especially in the luxury segment, is looking to discuss its electrification strategy for the next decade with any journalist willing to listen.

Porsche wants 50% of its stable to be electric by 2023. Jaguar Land Rover has announced it will shift production entirely to electric and hybrid vehicles by 2020.

Ford plans to deliver 13 new electrified models over the next five years. General Motors plans to roll out 20 all-electric models by 2023.

BMW will offer 25 electrified vehicles by 2025. Aston Martin expects that EVs will account for 25% of the company’s stable by 2030.

And that’s just the beginning. If projections are correct, there should be 400 electrified models on the road by 2025. That’s 300-plus more EVs and hybrids than are running about today.

My First Jaguar I-PACE Experience

October 29, 2018Electric Cars, I-PACE, Jaguar Land Rover, News, Reviews and CommentTrevor Larkum

On Friday I had my first taste of the new Jaguar I-PACE as I took my family for a test drive.

I was intrigued to see what it’s like as I think it would be fair to say that the motoring press have been raving about it, the first all-electric production car from the Jaguar Land Rover group.

It turns out it is a nice car to sit in and drive; it’s very comfortable, has a decent (though not huge) boot and lots of features. My family particularly liked the rear seat heaters, air conditioning and USB ports.

It accelerates nicely and pretty quietly, and has a decent range – somewhere between 250 and 300 miles (with the usual caveats over driving style, ambient temperature, etc). Overall a pretty good car.

However, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed as I was expecting something a little more special. I guess I’m a bit spoilt, driving a BMW i3 and having driven the Tesla Model S a number of times. But it pretty much seemed like just another Jaguar but this time with an electric powertrain.

While almost any car can be improved by going electric, I had hoped for a more ‘clean sheet’ design. For example, it had a huge console between the driver and passenger as though it had a gearbox and transmission tunnel, where on the i3 there is space, and a flat floor.

Anyway, if you are in the market for a Jaguar then do consider the I-PACE as it’s certainly the best Jaguar available. It has good looks, electric performance and a decent range so it’s well worth a look.

My thanks to David at Guy Salmon Jaguar Northampton for giving us the test drive.

Jaguar considers transformation to EV-only brand

October 17, 2018Electric Cars, Jaguar Land Rover, News, Reviews and Comment, OpinionRepost

JLR top brass are considering making all Jaguars electric-powered within the next decade

Jaguar Land Rover bosses are considering a plan to turn Jaguar into an EV-only brand within the next decade, Autocar has learned.

It is understood that company product planners have produced an outline strategy under which Jaguar’s conventional vehicle range would be phased out over the next five to seven years, to be replaced by fully electric vehicles.

Under the plans being considered, a full-on luxury electric saloon, replacing the unloved XJ, is expected within two years. It will be a direct competitor for Porsche’s upcoming Taycan, alongside strong-selling cars such as the Tesla Model S.

Rethought as an electric vehicle, the new XJ will both play to the strengths of the 1967 original by offering segment-leading refinement and ride and look to the future by completely reinventing the classic Jaguar interior.

It is understood that the new XJ will be a no-holds-barred luxury car in every sense, offering customers a zero-pollution alternative to a Mercedes-Benz S-Class or even a Bentley Flying Spur.

The thinking is that Jaguar will steal a march on rivals by building a true luxury EV in a segment that is probably the most environmentally minded and offers greater profitability per car than lower segments. EVs also fit in perfectly with the brief of a modern-day chauffeur of private hire driver, with excellent mechanical refinement and the ability to enter low-emission zones in cities without financial penalties.