Jaguar pledged to become an all-electric brand starting with the year 2025, under the Jaguar Land Rover group’s Reimagine plan. That’s in line with what a lot of other car makers are doing but Jaguar doesn’t have an electric platform at the moment, on which to build its upcoming EV models. Initially, it was thought that the British brand would buy one from its competitors but those plans have apparently changed.
According to Autocar, the JLR Group CEO, Thierry Bollore, told investors during a call on Monday that the company is looking to build its own modular platform right now. The report claims Bolloré stated that JLR models, especially Jaguars, require a platform that combines design proportions and characteristics not available from other car manufacturers, mentioning the MLA High platform underpinning the new Range Rover as well as the forthcoming EMA platform for smaller Land Rovers.
“Concerning the new Jaguar, we’re making unique proportion a priority. That’s the reason why at the moment we do it by ourselves,” Bollore said. Panthera is the name of the new platform, according to chief financial officer Adrian Mardell, who confirmed it during the call. JLR’s decision to go at it alone with a dedicated Jaguar platform rather than buying one in order to save money on development is likely related to JLR’s chief designer Gerry McGovern’s desire to make cars with unique looks, as the company moves closer to Bentley territory in terms of pricing.
As a matter of fact, the CEO of the company actually confirmed that Jaguar is looking to change the way it’s doing business in the future. Plans are to migrate from to a lower-volume, higher-value line-up of models. Nevertheless, sharing certain components between various models will definitely increase profitability. This move is peculiar and risky though, as the JLR group just reported a loss on its 2021 fiscal year. Furthermore, developing a modular electric platform by 2025 is an ambitious goal, considering we’re just three years away.
