Should Jaguar put all its eggs in the battery electric basket?

My first recollection of the Jaguar brand was when its TWR cars won the Le Mans 24-hour race in 1988. Its sporting achievements on the track over the decades helped establish Jaguar as an iconic brand. Today it is still the most successful British car company to have competed at Le Mans.

Sadly, its racing days are over and over the past two decades its range of road cars have undergone a series of transformations as Jaguar has tried hard to find a new modern, dynamic identity.

Last week’s news of its edgy re-brand and its decision to move to an all-electric range by 2026 sent shock waves through the global automotive industry. No other automotive rebrand in my lifetime has created this volume of comment and opinion, much of it highly critical.

Whether you like the rebrand or not, for me it shows that there is a great deal of love out there for Jaguar, and what other choice does it currently have after years of lacklustre sales?

Don’t forget Saab was a respected brand that designed and built iconic cars, but it wasn’t enough to save it from going under in 2011 after over 60 years of production, as it never had a plan B. Jaguar with the support and investment of parent company Tata still has control over its own destiny and rightfully is taking the bull by the horns and doing something about it.

I won’t judge the rebrand until the new cars arrive in 2026. But, once everything calms down I believe the majority of people whose forthright views have been recorded on social media and in the press are hoping it works so Jaguar can enjoy many more years as an iconic British brand.

The only thing that worries me is the fact it has decided to put all of its eggs in one basket by launching an all-electric range. This comes at a time when other prestige and luxury brands are having a re-think around their future powertrain strategy after a lukewarm reception by drivers to EVs.

Lotus has recently made a U-turn away from its pledge as an all-electric car brand by 2028, opting instead for plug in hyper hybrid power, while Aston Martin has made a pledge to continue production of ICE cars well into the 2030s.

Porsche has had a rethink on its move to EVs by combining ICE engines and hybrids, while Bentley is extending the lifecycle of its plug-in hybrids. Mercedes plans to rework its hybrid combustion engines to extend their lifecycle well into the 2030s and BMW has announced it will launch a new generation of Internal Combustion Engines in 2026.

Jaguar looks likely to be the only brand in 2026 with an EV-only line-up and will be up against some fierce competition for new customers in the £100-200,000 sector.

Only time will tell whether their brave move is going to work but roll on Miami Art Week in early December when Jaguar launches a concept car which sets the scene for its new brand and styling direction.