Jaguar Prepares All-Electric Crossover For 2018

Jaguar F-Pace (Credit: Jaguar)

Jaguar is jumping into the electric vehicle market, at least according to a report from British automotive site Autocar. The news comes from what’s being called “well-placed industry sources.” No official word has been issued from Jaguar, at least not yet. The speculation about the upcoming vehicle is that it will be an all-electric crossover based on the F-Pace, a crossover model that’s still in development.

If anyone thinks it’s odd that Jaguar is creating an electric vehicle, they need to recall the CX-75 supercar, a project that was cancelled. Everyone will get to see the experimental car in action since a small batch of them will be starring in the new James Bond film Spectre. Thanks to the technology the company created, and with help from Williams Advanced Engineering, the electric version of the F-Pace should be a model that will give the likes of the Tesla Model X a run for its money.

Autocar’s sources say that the new vehicle’s range will be approximately 300 miles, which is pretty impressive. Other rumors claim that sister brand Land Rover is cooking up an all-electric version of the iconic Range Rover as well, borrowing the tech from Jaguar. That could be the first highly capable, mass-produced off-road vehicle to run on nothing but electricity. Some say that the electric Range Rover would be close to the ground and more like the Evoque, effectively killing such fun.

With more affluent members of society looking at vehicles like the Tesla Model S as a sign of success and unrivaled luxury, it’s inevitable that other luxury brands like Jaguar will jump in an carve out a portion of the electric crossover market segment.

Some are pointing to news items like this to back their claims that electric powertrain technology is a toy meant only for the rich. Lest they forget, there was a time not too long ago when people said the same thing about the automobile.