- The production of current gen XJ will cease this July.
- The successor to the flagship sedan will be a pure electric and is expected to arrive as early as 2020.
Introduced in 2009, the current generation Jaguar XJ has been around for almost a decade now. So it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Coventry-based carmaker will cease the production of the flagship sedan next month. The XJ’s successor is already in works and is slated to arrive in 2020.
Jaguar has already produced more than 120,000 units of the XJ since its launch. Codenamed the X351, the current model is the oldest car currently being sold in the UK. Even after the introduction of the 50th-anniversary edition, dubbed the XJ50, the demands for the Leaping Cat sedan was at an all-time low last year.
So understandably, the current XJ became a little long in the tooth, especially when its direct rivals – the German trio of Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series and Audi A8 – have moved ages ahead. All three Luxo-barges offer some kind of an electrified powertrain option as well. So Jaguar wants to take the high road and establish the next-gen XJ as a technological tour de force.
The ninth-generation of the XJ will be reinvented as an all-electric flagship as it will move further upmarket to be on par with the latest iteration of the 7 Series and the S-Class. And since it will have an electric powertrain, it will also lock horns with the Tesla Model S and the upcoming Porsche Taycan.
As far as development is concerned, the Jaguar I-Pace can provide a base for the electric XJ with its new 90kWh lithium-ion battery pack driving two electric motors for a total power output of 395bhp and 700Nm. According to reports, the new XJ has already crossed the design stage. The cabin design is already penned down, and being a reinvented XJ, we can expect an all-new design language from the British marque.
Following the electric XJ, Jaguar might be aiming to establish itself as a premium electric carmaker thus bringing in an entire portfolio of EVs. The new-gen electric Jaguar XJ should also make its way to our shores. Stay tuned for more updates.
