Jaguar to build a luxury EV - the next-gen XJ

KUALA LUMPUR: An all-new range of electric vehicles is soon to come out of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Castle Bromwich factory in England - announced the automaker. The Jaguar’s take on EVs will begin from a next-gen XJ, a luxury loaded electric sedan. So, the long era of supercharged V8 XJR is now truly over with Jaguar’s flagship car going all-electric.

The current-gen XJ production has now come to an end, and as per the automaker, the new EV version would be developed by the same team that worked on the I-Pace. The next-gen XJ EV will be “build on the characteristics synonymous with its predecessors—beautiful design, intelligent performance, and revered luxury.”

JLR also said that the development of new XJ would for sure “safeguard thousands of jobs in the UK”. Why? Well, that’s because of the development of the EV would require building up of new facilities along with substantial investment in the existing unit. The work in the Castle Bromwich factory would begin later this month, and it would be enabled with the automaker’s new ‘MLA’ platform. The said platform can support electric powertrains, diesel, hybrid, and gasoline.

According to a recent announcement by the company made in January 2019, the assembly of the electric drive units will start in the UK. And last month we were told that the EDUs would be developed by JLR in collaboration with BMW. The Battery Assembly Centre that is scheduled to open its gates in 2020 and would be capable of manufacturing around 150,000 units per year.

So, are you sad about the end of the conventional XJ run or excited for the upcoming EV version? Tell us in the comment section.