October 7, 2026 - Is This Jaguar's Last Chance?

This is the Telemetry Transportation Daily for October 7, 2026, and I'm Sam Abuelsamid, Vice President of Market Research for Telemetry. 

For a brand with as much history as Jaguar, it's kind of a shock to realize that we're coming up on a decade since it last unveiled a new product. In November 2016, Jaguar unwrapped the i-Pace, its first electric vehicle, at the Los Angeles Auto Show. After getting off to a good start, i-Pace sales waned due to a variety of quality issues and recalls. Production stopped at the end of 2024, along with pretty much the rest of the brand's lineup, while it worked on a complete revamp. Today, the i-Pace is best known as the basis for most of Waymo's robotaxi fleet. 

This week, Jaguar has finally unveiled its first new production model since the i-Pace, the Type 01 four-door GT car. Jaguar has given up on volume and is moving upmarket with an all-electric lineup that will add an SUV and sports car over the next couple of years. The Type 01 has an all-new look that was previewed with the Type 00 concept two years ago. It's a bold statement with a long hood, sweeping roofline, and slab sides that look nothing like any Jaguar before.  It looks rather brutalist. 

With 1,015 horsepower from its three motors and a 118-kWh battery claimed to deliver 320 miles of range at 75 mph, it should deliver the performance people expect of a Jaguar. This is the opposite of a Lucid Air when it comes to packaging efficiency. It's 10 inches longer than the Lucid and about 10 inches shorter than a Cadillac Celestiq, but has relatively tight seating for only four people thanks to its prominent center spine. 

Unlike some competitors like Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar has taken a more modest approach to screens, with a single 24-inch OLED display for instruments and infotainment and a smaller 7-inch panel for controls in place of physical switches. The only physical controls are some buttons on the steering wheel. Despite the immense power, Jaguar has deliberately limited the acceleration, delivering 0-100 km/h in about 4 seconds. Jaguar specifically wanted to avoid the outrageous acceleration that causes many drivers and passengers physical discomfort. The car has an 850-volt electrical architecture and peak charging rate of 350 kW that should provide a 10-80% charge in about 22 minutes. Jaguar will start taking orders for the Type 01 early in 2027 with a starting price in the U.S. of $130,500.  If this car doesn’t start to revive Jaguar’s fortunes in the next year or two, it could conceivably be the end of the road for this brand. Right now, it’s too early to tell if buyers will go for this new look and new market position, let alone the electric drive. 

Thanks for listening.