“It’s probably one of the most important cars in Jaguar’s history.”
That’s how Jaguar’s global managing director Rawdon Glover introduced the production-ready Jaguar Type 01 when he spoke with Automotive Management ahead of its public unveiling in New York last night.
The rebirth of Jaguar as an EV-only luxury car brand, selling cars in low volume for six figure sums through a handful of dealerships in its selected markets, is weighing on the Type 01’s shoulders.
“Our process for developing this particular vehicle is completely unlike any other process we’ve taken. We started with a vision for how we thought future Jaguars should look because, most importantly, it needs to have a sense of drama, it needs to have a sense of scale, and it needs to be arresting – that’s where we started,” he said.
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The halo Jaguar cars of history, such as the E-Type and XJS, left their mark because they look different to anything else competing in the new car market at the time. “That spirit of reinvention, the conviction, the willingness to go again and continue to evolve is absolutely in our DNA,” Glover said at an exclusive media briefing Automotive Management attended.
“The vehicle itself will do a lot of heavy lifting for us. We are elevating the brand. Our average selling price when we were retailing new cars in the UK was about £60-65,000. The centre of gravity for us in the future is likely to be about £125,000.”
That puts Jaguar at the very top of the premium market in what Glover describes as “the white space” before the absolute luxury car brands. It also means Jaguar also needs the buying experience, and ownership lifecycle, to improve in future too, with a seamless customer experience, an ability to keep engaged through the app, to have an ownership experience on their own terms, such as with a concierge-type aftersales proposition.
The OEM’s customer research, of 2,500 people across four continents, found that people spending six figures on a new car are most interested in, firstly, how it looks and the emotional reaction it creates, then what it feels like inside, and how it drives. Low on their list is the type of powertrain, which gave Jaguar confidence in its decision to restart as an EV brand at a time when regulations were driving markets rapidly to decarbonise transport.
New customers to conquest
Glover said more than 50,000 people worldwide have registered to keep informed about Jaguar’s relaunch with the Type 01 and four in five of those are new to the brand.
While Jaguar wants to bring as many existing owners along as possible, he added: “It’s clear we are going to have to conquest a lot of people. They’re more likely to be urban, more likely to be younger, interested in design, in technology. But the unifying mindset, irrespective of geography, is that sense of individuality.
“The person buying this vehicle will be doing so because they are very, very independently minded and they want to make a strong statement about themselves.”
The Jaguar managing director (pictured) would not give sales expectations, but Type 01 will clearly remain fairly exclusive. Rawdon indicated that by the time Jaguar’s new range is complete, and it is operating in its target markets, the brand will be “dealing in tens of thousands as our volume measurement”.
Utilising Jaguar’s dedicated architecture, with investment in new vehicles that will come down the line, will enable it to generate a long-term return and cash that will be reinvested in the next generation.
He said North America will be Jaguar’s largest market, followed by the UK and then Germany. Before the end of the decade Jaguar will launch in China and that is likely to climb up the rankings but he doesn’t expect it to overtake North America.
“In our previous iteration we were in about 120 different markets, so literally everywhere. We will be in far fewer markets, and about eight or nine markets will be about 85% of our volume.”
It’s more cost efficient, and easier to manage, if Jaguar remains selective of the countries it will sell its new cars in.
Glover gives the example of the UK, where there were 90 Jaguar dealers prior to the end of the last generation cars. The new network will comprise fewer than 20 dealerships here, all in metropolitan areas and in existing JLR properties, and all with the right level of commercial opportunity to be able to earn profit and provide the right experience.
There will also be one standalone Jaguar store in Knightsbridge, London.
The Jaguar Type 01
It’s a luxurious four-door electric grand tourer and the most powerful Jaguar road car ever, with up to 1,030PS power and 1,365Nm torque. Rather than just boasting about its 3.2-second 0-62mph standing start capabilities, Jaguar proudly applauds its Autobahn-focused overtaking agility, rocketing from 62-112mph in 4.0 seconds where legal.
With 850-volt architecture and 118kWh usable battery, the British-built Type 01 has been designed to deliver up to 450 miles of WLTP range, including up to 320 miles at motorway speeds, so that buyers have confidence they can use this car for their long-distance jaunts.
It’s also the most aerodynamic Jaguar yet, despite its exuberant proportions, as it makes use of clever technology such as active vanes up front, a deployable rear spoiler and airflow optimisation to achieve a drag co-efficient of 0.23Cd.
It’s a 5.2 metre long car but the cabin felt actually quite cosy, and particularly snug when you climb into the rear seats. Once you’re inside, though, it does feel pretty special, and a real break from the norm.
Key features include an impressive central ‘spine’ running down the length of the cabin, splitting it into four individual spaces and providing useful storage and controls.
Up front, a single 24in screen driver display is accompanied by a 7in central smartphone-style touchscreen which the driver or front passenger will use to control certain cabin functions, along with voice commands.
And replacing a traditional rear view mirror is a full width panoramic soundbar along the dashboard with an embedded ClearSight Rear View display, fed by a rear view camera – an industry first. Jaguar says this is in the driver’s natural eyeline as it’s positioned at the same height as the door mirrors.
At the back, the powered tailgate rises to reveal more than 450 litres of loadspace, expanding to 1,000 litres with rear seats folded. The split-level luggage space includes hidden underfloor stowage.
Essential emergency kit can be housed in the service stowage under the bonnet.