Is Jaguar’s move to ultra-luxury electric vehicles a wise move?

Jaguar’s redesign will be led by a four-door electric GT with up to 430 miles of range

It’s no secret that Jaguar is on its way out as the company transforms itself into an all-electric “ultra-luxury” brand, taking on the likes of Bentley. It’s a bold move as existing models will be phased out and some markets won’t get a new Jaguar for about a year.

It sounds like a recipe for disaster, but Jaguar believes it’s the best strategy for the future. As managing director Rawdon Glover recently explained to Top Gear, the brand is at a “crossroads” and needs to “move ourselves out of the (mass) premium market”.

MORE: Jaguar confirms electric four-door GT with 430 miles of range, starting at $125,000

It’s no secret that Jaguar has been struggling to compete with its German rivals, and its performance has been pretty dismal. Jaguar’s sales in the U.S. have fallen every year since 2019, with the company selling just 8,348 vehicles in the U.S. last year. The situation in Europe wasn’t much better, with sales falling from 84,219 in 2018 to 23,923 in 2022.

Those numbers will likely drop significantly when the company begins implementing the “firewall” that will separate the current era from the new one. During this time, the automaker will rely on the F-Pace, and dealers won’t have much to sell. Some dealers are expected to give up, and Glover admitted that there will be some “very painful things” in the move upmarket.

However, he believes the strategy is the right one because it will completely reshape the brand. Glover also told the magazine: “With every decision we make, we ask, ‘Will this make people see Jaguar the way we need them to?’ If it doesn’t make them want to pay £120,000 ($156,890), we won’t do it.”

While the wait is “very frustrating,” Jaguar will reportedly reveal a concept car by the end of the year. Details are limited, but the company has previously confirmed they are developing a four-door GT that will be the most powerful Jaguar ever. It will use the all-new Jaguar Electric Architecture (JEA) and have a range of up to 430 miles (700 km).

It will be the star of a reduced lineup of three models, including at least one SUV, all built on the same JEA platform. That’s a far cry from today, but Glover said they needed to get back to the days when “we made beautiful and desirable cars, not in large numbers, not in large numbers in the portfolio.”