Automotive News Europe — 2026-06-25
Automotive Industry
Jaguar Land Rover is betting that luxury electric vehicle buyers will pay a premium for battery power — a strategy that runs counter to competitors such as Volvo, BMW, Mercedes-Benz that aim to sell EVs at prices in line with combustion models.
JLR is launching five EVs in the next 18 months, including the two large Range Rovers, a smaller Range Rover expected to replace Velar, a Defender-badged small SUV and the Jaguar Type 01 sedan.
“We are really trying to go against what is happening in the market trend,” JLR chief commercial officer Leonard Hoornik said during the company’s investor day June 17.
The full-electric Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, launching in the next 18 months, will offer improvements over combustion versions including increased quietness and additional power, he said.
“Our job is to explain that the best Range Rover ever actually has an electric powertrain,” Hoornik said.
In contrast, Volvo’s competitors are working to bring EV prices in line with combustion models. Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said his company’s aim is for consumers to be able to buy EVs at prices level with the cost of a gasoline car.
The Range Rover Electric has 118 kilowatt-hour battery pack for 600 km (373 miles) range. The powertrain delivers 542 hp, about the same as the plug-in hybrid version and above the 4.4-liter V-8 that has 537 hp.
JLR has not disclosed prices for the electric Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
The combustion-engine Range Rover starts at €146,100 in Germany. While the Range Rover Sport is priced from €93,500, according to JLR’s German website.
Prices of new electric cars on the EMA platform to replace smaller JLR models such as the Range Rover Evoque and Velar will also rise compared to the current combustion engine cars, CFO Richard Molyneux said at the investor day.
Automakers have struggled to make as much money on EVs as they do on combustion-engine models because of higher costs for raw materials and the need to discount their electric models because of lower-than-expected demand.
JLR has not offered an all-electric model since stopping production of the Jaguar i-Pace in 2024. Instead, the automaker has focused on plug-in hybrids to help lower its fleet emissions averages to meet regulatory CO2 targets.
JLR will focus on leasing to protect resale values
JLR plans to protect resale values on upcoming EVs through an expanded leasing strategy.
Finance plans will be longer, and the company will become more involved in the resale process “by creating a second, third, fourth, and fifth life for the car,” Hoornik said.
By leasing the BEVs instead of selling them outright, JLR can resell them through its dealers and set its own pricing for used cars.
The automaker will control inventory to limit sales. “We are making sure that we never oversell or overflow the market with stock,” Hoornik said.
U.S. West Coast expected to be key market
EVs will also form an important part of JLR’s push to increase U.S. sales.
Demand for electric models is expected to be high in U.S. states such as California.
“There’s a significant untapped market and you just have to go to the West Coast to understand the implications of that,” CEO PB Balaji said during the investor day.
The company is targeting wealthy U.S. customers with new models, including a Defender developed with Stellantis. The automakers said May 20 that they plan to explore collaboration opportunities in the U.S. to create synergies across product and technology development.
In an investor presentation JLR said the U.S. has 38 percent of the world’s richest customers and pricing is higher in the U.S. compared with other key markets.
JLR told investors that its plans for Jaguar to be an all-electric brand are unchanged. “The reason we are saying that is because the kind of performance attributes we want Jaguar to perform against can be delivered only through an electric drivetrain,” Balaji said.
Jaguar’s relaunch as an all-electric brand begins in October with the global launch of the Type 01 in New York. Jaguar is expected to price the Type 01 at around $150,000.