A new electric flagship is coming in its place.
Believe it or not, Jaguar has built the current-generation XJ sedan since 2009. It’s currently the oldest Jaguar model in production, and the company gave it a mid-cycle refresh in 2015. After a decade and 120,000 cars built, though, it is now time to make a change. Jaguar will end current XJ production in July 2019.
The Jaguar XJ is the company’s flagship sedan. Despite its fantastic looks and its flagship status, it’s still one of the company’s least-selling models. Luxury sedans on the whole are losing ground, and its age is not helping it along. While Jaguar sold 1,579 examples of the XJ in the U.S. in 2018, it also shifted 12,997 F-Pace models. Even factoring in the price difference, the the XJ’s lagging behind every other model signaled its inevitable demise.
The XJ name will live on
However, Jaguar is not giving up on having a flagship sedan altogether. Instead, the next Jaguar XJ will take the model in a whole new direction. Instead of a 3.0-liter V6 or 5.0-liter V8 under the hood, the new model will have an all-electric powertrain. A Jaguar spokesperson told Autocar that the company has every intention “to continue the XJ nameplate”.
This will be the largest change in the model’s 51-year production run, but it will still face off against its luxury competition. The all-electric Jaguar XJ will face off against flagship sedans like the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Audi A8.
With an all-electric model, the XJ will undoubtedly find itself right in the firing line of the Tesla Model S. According to Autocar, design boss Ian Callum and his team have completed design work on the new model. Alongside the I-Pace, the new model will offer Jaguar a stronger electric lineup, as it continues to move away from big, thirsty V8 engines.
Check out our blast from the past review of the Jaguar XJ below: