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Jaguar assembly lines go dormant in June, but stockpile to keep dealers supplied until next year
JLR is planning a tightly managed transition from the current lineup to the new one that aims to keep Jaguar dealers from running out of new vehicles.
Richard Truett
March 02, 2024 12:00 AM

Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant will begin the transition to producing body panels for all JLR vehicles after production of gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles ends.
The end of Jaguar's internal combustion engine age is just weeks away.
The British automaker is planning to end production of its remaining gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles starting in June, Joe Eberhardt, JLR's North American CEO, told Road & Track magazine.
But the first of a new generation of high-performance Jaguar electric vehicles is not expected to land at U.S. dealers until sometime in 2025. So JLR is planning a tightly managed transition from the current lineup to the new one that aims to keep Jaguar dealers from running out of new vehicles.
"The majority of our products cease production in June, but they will be on sale for a much longer time," Eberhardt told Road & Track. "We will have a production schedule that enables us to have a continuous supply of vehicles until the new cars come. … We're trying to time it so we have enough volume to take us through to the launch of the new product and have a clean handover."
Final customer orders for the F-Type sports car are being built now. Jaguar's vehicles scheduled for production through June are the F-Pace midsize crossover, the E-Pace compact crossover and the XF sedan. The electric I-Pace, built under contract in Austria by Magna Steyr, is expected to end production last, probably sometime early next year.
JLR spokesperson Stuart Schorr said the company's U.K. Castle Bromwich plant, where the F-Type, XF and the smaller XE sedan are assembled, will begin the transition to producing body panels for all of the automaker's models after vehicle production ends.
Dwindling sales and dealers
Jaguar sold an estimated 8,284 vehicles in the U.S. last year, down 9 percent from 2022.
Some of that lower volume was by design. Jaguar also reduced its dealership count last year in preparation for the arrival of the new, more expensive EV lineup. Jaguar started 2024 with 146 U.S. dealers — 49 fewer than a year ago, according to the Automotive News dealership census. Most Jaguar dealers who surrendered their franchises transitioned to certified pre-owned sales and service-only outlets.
JLR has not said how many dealerships it plans to have in the U.S. when it is done trimming stores. But the number could rival other ultraluxury brands Jaguar will compete against, such as Aston Martin and Bentley, and could total fewer than 100.
The first of the new-generation electric Jaguars is a four-door fastback called the GT that will likely have a starting price around £100,000 (about $127,000). It will be equipped with all-wheel drive and offer a 0 to 60 mph acceleration time of under four seconds. JLR has said the GT will be capable of fast charging and have a range of greater than 400 miles. The GT is the first variant to be built on an exclusive Jaguar EV platform called the JEA. Two other JEA-based crossovers are expected to join the GT after the new car debuts.
JLR officials would not say how many combustion vehicles the company will stockpile and then funnel to dealers starting late this summer, nor would they comment on how the plan would be executed. Will the company's remaining U.S. Jaguar dealers take delivery of all the vehicles, or will vehicles be held at ports or elsewhere and be delivered when ordered?
One longtime dealer, who asked not to be identified, said JLR's plan to prevent dealers from running out of cars before the new Jaguars arrive sounds viable — as long as dealers are not forced to take inventory, which would increase their floorplan expenses.
JLR CEO Adrian Mardell, speaking to reporters last month on the automaker's earnings call, said the rollout plan for Jaguar's lineup looks like this: The GT will debut late this year with sales starting in 2025. Late next year, the second new Jaguar will arrive, followed by the third model in 2026.
JLR would not say when its U.S. Jaguar dealers will be given further details of the lineup transition. "We will continue to work with the retailer cabinet and retailers on the journey," said Schorr.

Nod to four-walling,