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The electric Jaguar XJ was a battery-electric luxury saloon car due to be launched in 2021 by British car company Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) under their Jaguar Cars marque. It was to supersede the XJ (X351), the last example of which was built in July 2019. In February 2021, CEO Thierry Bolloré announced that this car was cancelled as part of Jaguar's Reimagine plan, although the XJ name may be revived at a later date.

History

A prototype based on the current-production XJ (X351) was built in 2010; the X351-based vehicle was equipped with a 145 kW (194 hp), 400 N⋅m (295 lb⋅ft) traction motor and included a three-cylinder, 35 kW (47 hp) range extending gasoline engine. It was said to have a range of 600 mi (970 km) with a combined fuel economy of 57 mpg_‑imp (5.0 L/100 km; 47 mpg_‑US).

Project X391

On 5 July 2019, the last day of production of their Jaguar XJ (X351) car at their Castle Bromwich Assembly site, JLR announced they intended to build its replacement, an all-electric luxury saloon car, at the same plant. JLR had confirmed its plans previously in May. A teaser image of the model was shown at the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show. The car was originally expected to be launched in 2020. According to The Verge, the new model was being "developed by the same team that created the I-Pace" and JLR were planning to make a new range of electrified vehicles at the plant. The project was codenamed X391, and was being developed alongside the Land Rover Road Rover (project code L392), which was detailed in October 2019.

JLR had planned to update the Castle Bromwich plant to produce the car on the company's new Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform. The plan to build the electric Jaguar XJ saloon, replacing the manufacturing of the conventional XJ at this plant, was viewed as essential for "safeguarding the jobs of 2,500 people", or 2,700 people according to BBC News. Manufacturing of the new model had been expected to start in autumn 2019, after a significant investment in upgrades to the facility. David Bailey, a professor of business economics at Birmingham Business School, said that, without the new electric model, the Castle Bromwich plant would "effectively be dead". The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom forced JLR to halt non-essential spending, delaying the scheduled unveiling of X391 and L392 by two months to October and November 2020.

By January 2021, X391 had failed to launch and speculation on the fate of Castle Bromwich and the upcoming electric XJ began; X391 was cancelled formally in February; Bolloré had made the decision to discontinue development within his first month with JLR: "XJ was a completely different kind of car from the ones we were proposing – different in technology, battery chemistry, electronics, size, performance and market position. It would never have suited our plans." During an investor call, JLR CFO Adrian Mardell stated the cancellation of X391 and L392 would result in a write-off of £1,000,000,000 in development costs. Mardell clarified Bolloré's stance: "The current MLA program ... would have been catch-up in compliance and that just isn't good enough in this industry today" and added " wouldn't have that modern luxury, that future Jaguar vision, that drop-dead aspiration that we need to make this brand work ... So we had to make a tough decision." After the electric XJ was cancelled, JLR announced that it would "end mass production of cars at (Castle Bromwich) before 2025".

In early 2022, JLR announced that under the Reimagine plan, the planned all-electric line-up by 2025 would be based on an internally-developed platform known as Panthera. Bolloré stated that Panthera would not be shared with Land Rover, as it was designed to allow Jaguar to provide "unique proportions" and capabilities, and would help the marque survive as it moved to a higher price point and lower volume. The upcoming Panthera-based flagship of the Jaguar line is anticipated to be called the XJ. Later in February, Jaguar stated it would develop Panthera jointly with Magna Steyr, which assembles the I-Pace under contract to JLR in Austria.

Design

In March 2020, a prototype X391 was photographed while undergoing testing on public roads. Although the car's features were obscured, Autocar commented that the prototype's "long bonnet and high waistline aren't unlike those of the outgoing XJ", and the X391 would have been wider and taller than the X351. MLA was designed to accommodate underfloor batteries up to 90.2 kW-hr in size, providing up to 290 mi (470 km) of range using one traction motor on each axle.

References

1. "Jaguar Land Rover Reimagines the Future of Modern Luxury by Design" (Press release). Gaydon, UK. 15 February 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
2. Ramey, Jay (16 February 2021). "Electric Jaguar XJ Canceled at the Last Minute". Autoweek.
3. Holloway, Hilton (4 February 2010). "All-electric Jaguar XJ created". Autocar. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
4. ^ Burgess, Rachel (5 July 2019). "Electric Jaguar XJ confirmed, to be built at Castle Bromwich". Autocar. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
5. Ewing, Steven (11 September 2019). "Jaguar teases electric XJ during Land Rover Defender debut". Roadshow. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
6. ^ Jack, Simon (5 July 2019). "Jaguar Land Rover announces electric car investment". BBC News. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
7. O'Kane, Sean (5 July 2019). "Jaguar's next EV will be an electric XJ sedan". The Verge. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
8. Opelt, Andy. "Andy Opelt". LinkedIn.
9. "MLA (X391, L392) - Underbody". GALO Industries. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
10. ^ Attwood, James (21 October 2019). "Range Rover EV to be most road-biased Land Rover yet". Autocar. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
11. ^ Jolly, Jasper (5 July 2019). "Jaguar Land Rover to build electric XJ car at Castle Bromwich plant". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
12. Attwood, James (13 July 2020). "Report: Jaguar to delay electric XJ launch until late 2021". Autocar. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
13. Holloway, Hilton (17 September 2020). "Range Rover EV and electric Jaguar XJ delayed by pandemic". Autocar. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
14. Tisshaw, Mark (6 January 2021). "What's happened to the new Jaguar XJ?". Autocar. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
15. Page, Felix (15 February 2021). "Electric Jaguar XJ scrapped as part of brand reinvention plan". Autocar. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
16. Cropley, Steve (11 July 2021). "How JLR boss Thierry Bollore will reinvent Britain's biggest car firm". Autocar. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
17. Gibbs, Nick (2 March 2021). "JLR axed electric Land Rover, Jaguar on MLA platform to focus on better tech". Automotive News Europe. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
18. Jolly, Jasper (15 February 2021). "Jaguar Land Rover's low-carbon plans end mass production at Castle Bromwich plant". The Guardian.
19. Gibbs, Nick (1 February 2022). "Jaguar details bespoke Panthera platform for new EV family". Autocar. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
20. MacKenzie, Angus (18 August 2021). "Future Cars: 2026 Jaguar XJ Isn't What Was Originally Planned". Motor Trend. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
21. Gibbs, Nick (18 February 2022). "Jaguar, Magna's joint EV platform plans revealed by job ad". Automotive News Europe. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
22. Burgess, Rachel (16 March 2020). "2020 Jaguar XJ: latest images reveal electric luxury car's look". Autocar. Retrieved 2 May 2022.

External links

• Electric concept cars
• Jaguar vehicles