Jaguar will unveil electric GT in U.S. as brand moves more upscale

LONDON -- Jaguar plans to unveil a concept previewing its new battery-electric GT in the U.S. later this year as part of the brand's relaunch, Jaguar Land Rover CEO Adrian Mardell said.

The sedan is due to go on sale next year priced at more than 100,000 pounds ($125,000) as the brand moves more upscale into the ultraluxury space of marques such as Bentley.

Jaguar's new all-electric range will stretch to three cars eventually. All the models will be built on a platform called Jaguar Electrified Architecture (JEA).

Speaking to journalists on Friday, Mardell did not give further details about the concept's U.S. unveiling.

He said that giving Jaguar its own architecture will enable the brand to return to its DNA, which "is exuberant, progressive and bold." Jaguar's current cars share underpinnings with smaller Range Rover and Land Rover models.

Possible locations for the electric GT concept's unveiling could be the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in August or the Los Angeles auto show in November.

Jaguar Land Rover sees the U.S. as a crucial market for Jaguar's relaunch as an upscale all-electric brand that will compete with Bentley and Porsche instead of Mercedes-Benz and BMW.

Mardell told investors last year that the brand had success in the U.S. in the 1990s when Jaguar targeted super-wealthy buyers. This shows that moving the brand more upmarket can work, he said.

'Reimagined' brand

Jaguar will begin the process of relaunching the "completely reimagined" brand in the summer, JLR's finance chief, Richard Molyneux, told investors on the company's earnings call on Friday.

Jaguar has previously said the new GT will be a "copy of nothing" but will take inspiration from the design freedom that characterized iconic models from its past, including the E-Type sports car. "You will salivate when you see the product. I am certain of it," Mardell said.

JLR's Chief Creative Officer Gerry McGovern said last year that the new Jaguar GT will have a "jaw dropping" design like no other electric model on the road today. It will have a range of up to 700 km (434 miles).

McGovern said special editions will play a big part in driving up pricing, with Panthera offered as a potential name for a limited run model.

Jaguar plans to wind down its range of combustion engine vehicles in advance of the electric rebrand, but it has not yet said when it will stop building ICE models.

Record revenue

JLR sold 18,059 Jaguars in the quarter ending March 31, up 17 percent on the year before. The F-Pace midsize SUV remained the brand's best-seller with sales up 23 percent to 7,613 units during the quarter.

The automaker’s pre-tax profit rose by 80 percent to top 661 million pounds ($828 million) in the quarter after generating record quarterly revenue of 7.9 billion pounds.

JLR has been battling to reduce a large order backlog caused by the global chip shortage that emerged during the pandemic and left customers waiting for months on their cars.

Its order book was cut to 133,000 by the end of March, with the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender making up the bulk of orders, the company said on Friday.

JLR plans to launch its first full-electric Range Rover this year. Around 33,000 people have signed up to the waiting list for the electric model since it opened in December, CFO Molyneux said.

Bloomberg contributed to this report