Jaguar XJ to end production, set to be replaced by electric flagship

Just a year after its 50th anniversary, Jaguar will end the production of the XJ saloon at its ancestral home of Castle Bromwich in July.

The now-nine-year old saloon has had a long life and has suffered from slow sales in a tough market segment.

In the full-year 2018, Jaguar only managed to sell 19 units of the luxury car in Australia, up against the more-recently-updated Mercedes-Benz S-Class (284 units) and BMW 7 Series (116 units).

The XJ nameplate will continue, on a new electric flagship model that is touted to be unveiled this year using drivetrain technology from the brand’s I-Pace electric SUV as part of parent company Jaguar Land Rover’s overarching strategy to simplify its platforms toward an all-electric future.

While the XJ name might return, the saloon’s replacement may not be built at one of JLR’s storied facilities at Castle Bromwich or Solihull, as car manufacturing takes a dive in the UK courtesy of the impending Brexit deadline.

While the brand’s Australian managing director, Mark Cameron, made it clear at the launch of the second-generation Range Rover Evoque that the brand desires to keep its UK operations open, the I-Pace is built at a Magna-Steyr facility in Graz, Austria and the brand recently built a brand-new production facility in Nitra, Slovakia.

Jaguar Land Rover is hoping to turn its fortunes around after a rough financial result last year. It is pinning its hopes on the rollout of its hybrid and fully electric platforms, which should reverse the damage done by ‘Dieselgate’-related emissions fallout in Europe.

The XJ is not the only storied nameplate under fire as manufacturers move toward EVs, with Audi recently announcing it will kill off its TT coupe and possibly its R8 supercar and A8 luxury saloon as part of its EV model replacement strategy.

What would it take to get the XJ back on your radar? Tell us what you think in the comments below.