Tesla has shown the world that electric cars can be luxurious, desirable, and cool. In the process, it has generated big demand -- and taken some big bites out of the the sales of more established luxury-car brands.
Slowly, the luxury-car incumbents are gearing up to fight back. Here's how Jaguar Land Rover, now owned by India's Tata Motors (NYSE:TTM), is planning to enter the new and promising market for "premium electric vehicles."
In development: 2 new battery-electric Jaguars
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has shown off a number of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid concepts in recent years. But the latest reports suggest that its plans have firmed up: According to Automobile Magazine, JLR is currently gearing up to produce two new battery-electric vehicles: a premium SUV and a big, opulent sedan. Both will be sold under the Jaguar brand, according to the report.
It's a serious effort. The sedan is said to be the successor to Jaguar's current top-of-the-line (gasoline-powered) XJ sedan, though the two may be sold side by side until JLR is certain that the market will accept its electric sedan. It'll have all-wheel-drive, an exterior design that is said to be "breathtaking," and will be able to incorporate advanced self-driving capabilities as that technology is perfected.
British magazine Autocar reported last month that the electric Jaguar SUV, currently in testing, has four electric motors, one for each wheel. It's expected to be smaller than Jaguar's electric sedan, possibly sharing architecture with Jaguar's compact F-Pace crossover SUV.
The electric Jaguars may be built by Austrian contract manufacturer Magna Steyr, a unit of the giant auto-industry supplier Magna International (NYSE:MGA). JLR announced a "manufacturing partnership" around unspecified future products with Magna Steyr last year, and it probably doesn't have the facilities to set up a new dedicated assembly line for the electrics on its own.
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