The Jaguar I-Pace electric crossover will reportedly be discontinued before the automaker's relaunch as an all-electric brand in 2025.
The move has been officially confirmed to Autocar by JLR CEO Adrian Mardell, which goes against previous CEO Thierry Bolloré's suggestion that the I-Pace would be made "better and better" and remain on sale – perhaps moving into a second generation – alongside Jaguar's next-gen electric cars.
It is not yet known when the I-Pace will officially go out of production as Jaguar still has to perfect its launch calendar for the all-new electric models coming by mid-decade. For now, Jaguar has said it will debut its first next-generation EV in late 2024 and launch it in 2025. The model will be built on parent company JLR's bespoke JEA electric architecture.
Mardell said Jaguar doesn't want the I-Pace to be out of the market for too long before the launch of the all-new EV family.
Gallery: 2024 Jaguar I-Pace
"Right now, people are telling me it's going to be in the first half of 2025. That's just under two years away. I'd be more confident in that response when we're nine to 12 months away," Mardell told Autocar. As a result, Jaguar has nine to 12 months to work through these decisions, the CEO added.
Mardell said the Jaguar I-Pace is mainly sold in the UK and mainland Europe to help ensure the company complies with emission targets. He noted that the electric crossover has made a big contribution to the development of Jaguar's future EVs as the I-Pace has helped JLR understand how to develop battery-electric vehicles.
Speaking about the future all-electric Jaguar lineup, Mardell said the automaker targets production of 4,000 cars per month, compared with just over 5,000 sales per month in the first quarter of 2023 (ICE and EV combined).
The executive said Jaguar's future EVs will have "exuberant" proportions with long wheelbases, which is why the brand needs its own bespoke architecture – JEA – and will not use JLR's modular MLA platform that will underpin the electric Range Rover from 2024, among other models. Mardell said "the design language on them is just gorgeous."
