Mardell feels vindicated by the decision to cancel the XJ EV, which was ready for production in 2021Adrian Mardell is bullish about the brand's prospects, having joined it 34 years ago
When the first new-era Jaguar model rolls off the Solihull production line in summer 2026, it will have been almost six years since the announcement of plans for Jaguar to shift upmarket and go electric-only.
Such is the interest in this reborn Jaguar that questions about what the cars will be and the market challenges they might face have dominated any discussion with JLR CEO Adrian Mardell – most recently at the publication of the firm’s latest quarterly financial results.
The latest headwinds range from US president-elect Donald Trump’s threats to put large tariffs on all imported goods – particularly concerning, because the US will be a key market in this new era – to the cooling of demand for electric cars and rival premium firms extending the life of combustion models accordingly.
“I have never been more confident in Jaguar in the last 25 years,” came Mardell’s bullish reply to my points. “That might go against some of the things you’ve just said. What Jaguar needs to be, the client base it needs to seek and where it’s most likely to be successful, all of those things are possible in the environment you’ve just set out.”
Mardell, a modest character who doesn’t court headlines, recalls his arrival at Jaguar 34 years ago as a time when the brand was “super-clear” in its positioning. That is inspiring a “curation of the brand that is just extraordinary” and a set-up for the relaunch that “is going to be spot on”.
Not only did Mardell talk up the brand’s chances, but he also said he was “certain we will have wait lists which are significant relative to the volumes we aspire for with the first product”.
He concluded: “In today’s market conditions, I don’t see anything which is going to concern me about the success of the new Jaguar in this new world at all, actually.”
At the same time as the new era for Jaguar was confirmed, the axe started to fall on the existing range of models, as well as the cancellation of the XJ EV, which was ready for production in 2021.
Mardell at least feels vindicated by that decision, as he watched other rivals struggle with their only early electric offerings in terms of everything from software to residual values.
The Jaguar I-Pace has had plenty of its own problems, too.
“With BEVs, you really can’t take any compromises on the vehicle you put into the marketplace,” said Mardell.
“I think the experience of other [manufacturers] over the last two to three years has reinforced and reconfirmed what we would have originally expected, and that is everything we pull out into the marketplace, whether it be BEV or not, needs to have zero compromises and just needs to be the best vehicle we have ever, ever launched. That’s what we’re going to do.”
