- Jaguar isn’t interested in generating “enormous volumes” anymore.
- The Type 01 is targeting a select crowd of high-end buyers.
- Jaguar says the Type 01 could only be built as an EV.
9. That’s how many new Jaguars were registered across Europe (EU27, UK, EFTA) in the first five months of the year. There is a logical explanation for this historically low number. The company is essentially on hiatus as it puts the finishing touches on its radical EV transformation. The old guard of combustion-engine cars is gone, and everything from now on will be purely electric. A striking grand tourer will lead the way when the Type 01 breaks cover in October.
Who’s it for? Certainly not for most of Jaguar’s traditional clientele. The company’s Managing Director, Rawdon Glover, famously projected last year that only 15 percent of buyers are likely to return and place an order for the Type 01. In other words, the company with the leaping cat logo has already come to terms with the idea that 85 percent of its customers will switch to other brands.
Speaking recently during a Q&A session following the 2026 Jaguar Land Rover Investor Day, another company official explained how the Jaguar of tomorrow will target a different segment of the market. JLR Chief Growth Officer Lennard Hoornik said that with the Type 01, Jag is “playing a niche part of a niche part.” It’s no longer chasing volume.
Photo by: Jaguar
‘It’s bold, yes. It is a clear strategy that we’ve got, and we are confident about it. Please understand that we are not looking for enormous volumes. We are playing a niche part of a niche part. This is actually building a completely new market, and so we create individual demand case by case. It’s really clear that it’s very difficult to compare it to the old range.’
Lennard Hoornik went on to say the Type 01 will come at a “completely different price point” from Jaguar’s previous combustion-engine vehicles. He summed it up by saying it’s “different everything” from the old way of doing things, which was to “take share from others.” For decades, Jaguar tried to compete head-to-head with Mercedes, BMW, and Audi, but never truly succeeded.
Jaguar has already dismissed rumors of putting a combustion engine in the Type 01, denying speculation about installing an ICE to serve as a generator in a range-extending version. Now, JLR’s Chief Growth Officer is adamant that an all-electric powertrain was a prerequisite for making the extravagant GT a reality:
‘The key message is that the only way that you can make this car is with an electric powertrain.’
Lennard Hoornik also took a jab at rivals, saying “a lot of OEMs have launched [electric cars] and perhaps rushed a bit,” whereas Jaguar decided to take its time and get everything right from the start. Former Jaguar design chief Ian Callum recently revealed that the company had four new cars in development before they were all axed in favor of the Type 01. The XF, F-Pace, and F-Type were slated for next-generation replacements alongside an electric XJ, but they all had to die so the Type 01 could live.
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Source: Jaguar
Motor1’s Take: Jaguar’s reinvention as a high-end EV brand is a risky bet, requiring it to abandon decades of combustion-engine heritage and adopt a completely different market position. Nevertheless, the company is confident it knows what it’s doing. According to JLR CEO PB Balaji, “there is a significant untapped market out there,” which Jaguar will try to attract with the Type 01.
Ferrari’s Luce has stirred perhaps even more controversy, but Maranello can fall back on a vast portfolio of models if its first EV isn’t the commercial success it hopes for. In Jaguar’s case, the Type 01 will be the company’s sole product for a while before an SUV joins the lineup later this decade.
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