All-electric Jaguar XJ flagship due in 2021, with unconventional designAll-electric Jaguar XJ flagship due in 2021, with unconventional design

Jaguar teased an all-electric XJ sedan at the Frankfurt auto show Tuesday, confirming reports that the company’s flagship four-door will take the fight to Tesla in 2021.
This announcement confirms electrification for Jaguar’s large sedan, which Jaguar has been teasing for quite some time. It still remains unclear, however, whether the XJ will be offered exclusively as an EV. It will be built on Jaguar Land Rover’s new Modular Longitudinal Architecture (MLA) platform, which was engineered from the ground up to accommodate electric powertrains, however it is still compatible with ICEs.
Earlier rumors have suggested that an electric model at launch might be followed by gasoline-powered models. 
Only a brief glimpse of the new electric XJ’s rear end was shown, giving us a glimpse of a Jaguar logo on the deck lid (with the name spelled out completely beneath it) along with thin, full-width tail light strips. In an interview with Autocar, Jaguar’s Julian Thomson said the styling of the new XJ will “not be conventional.” Thomson took over for former lead designer Ian Callum upon his departure and worked under him as he oversaw the styling of Jaguar’s modern lineup. 
Despite Thomson’s assertion, the teaser image suggests at least a somewhat traditional rear-end for the new XJ, as a trunk opening line is visible. Fastback sedans have become more prevalent as manufacturers look for ways to bring crossover-like practicality to their slower-selling four-doors. While the XJ could sport a rear liftgate rather than an old-fashioned trunk, the up-swing in the panel gap would be more indicative of the latter. 
The teaser came during Jaguar Land Rover’s press conference introducing the new Land Rover Defender, which will also likely get an electrified variant in the coming years despite launching with two internal-combustion engines.
We expect to hear more about Jaguar’s plans for the new XJ in 2020.

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