Won’t Jaguar’s new strategy be affected by the European de facto ban on combustion engines by 2035?- View

But let’s see Rawdon Glover’s answers.

Glover: We believe that electric mobility is a kind of fusion that is progressing at different speeds in different parts of the world. We believe that electromobility will allow us to do certain things, especially in terms of the actual design. Once you’ve committed to an architecture, it’s very difficult to say: “Oh yes, why are all the investments going in this direction? So we’ve committed to this direction.”

At company level, we have other brands and other platforms. All of that will change depending on market trends, but in terms of overall strategy, that’s what it will be. Again, with any platform, it’s a long-term game. You need around six years to bring new models to market and then you have a nine-year cycle.

So if you go for it, you’re making a 15-year commitment to the platform. It’s very difficult to walk away from that. For me, that’s the future, whether it comes as quickly as we thought or whether it comes a bit later. But there is no way we can put in a hybrid engine or a petrol engine. We can’t go back.

But couldn’t flexible, so-called multi-energy platforms be developed?

They are much more expensive. Flexibility has its price. So I’m not sure it’s so easy to say: “We should have chosen a flexible platform”, because in reality we would have taken a completely different route in terms of vehicle design and proportions. There are pros and cons.

The world of luxury sports cars and electric vehicles don’t seem to get along. Let’s look at the Taycan, which had a good start and is now seeing a drastic drop in sales. What do you think about that?

Our first car will be a four-door Grand Tourer, so it will be different from the Taycan. There will be other cars with different body styles, which will be in different market segments.

We are starting with the four-door GT, not because it is the biggest segment, but because we think it is the most important one to establish the brand. That’s why we chose the 4-door GT, because it has a pure design and establishes the Jaguar movement. We knew it would never be the biggest market we could tap into, but that’s why we wanted to focus on this vehicle.