At a time when the automotive industry is undergoing one of the biggest transformations in its history, driven by environmental regulations, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is charting an electrified course while retaining its DNA.
In an exclusive interview, Léo Lubrano, Head of Press & PR France at JLR, talks to us about the British group’s vision, dilemmas and ambitions.
JLR, a complete luxury brand
Born in 2013 from the union of two icons of British motoring, Jaguar and Land Rover(JLR) has built on a heritage of luxury and automotive prestige.
Jaguar stands for elegance, sportiness and exceptional motoring performance, while Land Rover, parent company of Range Rover, Defender and Discovery, embodies ruggedness, adventure and world-renowned off-road expertise, becoming over the decades synonymous with refinement and absolute comfort.
« The Group’s objective is really to create a universe for each brand. They each have their own universe, always guided by strong ambitions for robustness, elegance and purity of line, in order to target the luxury segment of the automotive sector. »
Jaguar is now the embodiment of modern, assertive luxury, guided by the logic of ‘copy nothing’ (vehicles that are seen nowhere else and that break the mould). Jaguar is completely renewing itself with a 100% electric range.
At Range Rover, « we really cultivate luxury, elegance, charisma and pure lines. To achieve this, we explore the alpine, nautical and design worlds.
« The Defender, on the other hand, embodies the values of robustness, adventurousness and adventure. We’re putting more emphasis on what we call top luxury. It’s still a JLR Group brand, but this time it’s developed around the adjectives that have made the brand’s reputation: surpassing oneself and taking on new challenges.
Finally, Discovery retains its role as a versatile, top-of-the-range family SUV with a focus on travel.
A long-term vision
In order to meet European standards for the electrification of vehicle fleets, the British group has had to adapt and transform its models. The first of the Group’s brands to become 100% electric is Jaguar: « While our aim is to make this change as smoothly as possible, with Jaguar it has been much more radical. We have decided to relaunch the brand by producing vehicles powered solely by electric motors from 2026.
Jaguar is therefore completely changing its vision, embodied by the Jaguar Type 00, which will be the symbol of the brand’s renewal. « It will serve as a template for future vehicles to be released, the first of which will be the 100% electric 4-door GT Coupé. »
For the other brands in the JLR Group, the change will come in stages: « Apart from Jaguar, the first zero-emission vehicle will be the 100% electric Range Rover, which will come out in 2026. And then the EV range will gradually follow for all the brands ».
This is a clear, progressive policy for a group with clear ambitions: « The Group’s objective is to achieve zero carbon emissions for all its activities by 2039, including production. This fundamental transition therefore involves our ability to increase our electricity production, with the first solar projects starting up at JLR’s production centres in Gaydon, Haywood and Wolverhampton. Above all, we are maintaining our production capacity by refurbishing our factories.
As Mr Lubrano explains, JLR’s intention is not to make this transition abrupt, but to take the time to produce ultra-luxurious vehicles: « We have to adapt to the laws in terms of fleet electrification, but our aim is to produce efficient cars because one of the primary characteristics of our vehicles, whether for Defender, Range Rover, Discovery or Jaguar, is to make ultra-high-performance vehicles. »
Beyond the performance aspect, another of the brand’s strong personality traits is the comfort found in Range Rover, and with the entry into the range of 100% electric vehicles, this comfort will only increase: « This electrification will go in the direction of additional comfort. So for us, the message of transition to the brand’s regular customers is easy to deliver. All these facts mean that we have nothing to deny, quite the contrary. Going electric will be a real advantage for Range Rover. We’ll be able to go even further in creating this cocoon, this real living room on wheels.
Scepticism soon forgotten
The switch to electric vehicles means an entire ecosystem has been turned upside down. While manufacturers are having to adapt, so too are customers and consumers – a change that could have upset them.
The JLR Group brings together a number of the world’s iconic automotive brands. Jaguar, a century-old brand that has built its reputation as an engine manufacturer with the Le Mans 24 Hours, among others, faces a real challenge in maintaining the confidence of the brand’s fans.
« The announcement of the 100% electric car was greeted with a little scepticism, but that’s to be expected because the change has been radical. The launch of the Type 00 at the beginning of the year at Place Vendôme in Paris gave us the opportunity to invite loyal customers and journalists to explain why and how we got to this point and why we succeeded in creating this vehicle. If people were sceptical, after hearing the reasons for the change, they were completely unanimous that this is a spectacular vehicle that breaks the mould, but is true to the philosophy of Jaguar and its founder William Lyons. »
As for the Group’s other vehicles, while the transition to 100% electric vehicles is not yet complete, Léo Lubrano is not worried about how they will be received by the public. For him, it’s going to happen quite naturally « because one of the brand’s hallmarks is comfort and the living-room-on-wheels aspect, so it’s going to be quite simple to build around that ». I’m convinced that this transition will take a few years, and that’s normal.
Revised sales targets
This change in approach has led to a rethink of the British brand’s sales targets. « For the last few years, there has been growth, so obviously the aim is to keep up the momentum. The year 2025 is a bit special for the luxury car sector at the moment.
Indeed, the global economic context (economic slowdown, high inflation and high interest rates) is putting off purchases by luxury customers, a tense situation for a sector that is not immune.
For the JLR Group, there are a number of factors that make it impossible to draw any conclusions about sales figures: « In addition to this national and international context, there was a cyber-incident that we suffered in September, when production lines were interrupted. Obviously, this had a direct impact on sales, so for us it’s difficult to draw any interpretable sales results from it. »
Despite the difficulties faced by the entire automotive sector, Jaguar Land Rover explains that its sales ambitions have been rethought in the light of the brand’s clear desire to establish itself in the luxury segment of the sector:
« Since the launch of the Reimagine strategy, production volume has been reduced, especially initially, in order to move upmarket. The quality of our vehicles has improved, with purer materials and increasingly high-performance equipment; conversely, production volume has fallen slightly to move away from the premium vehicle segment and closer to the world of luxury ».
« For the coming year, we know it’s going to be a year of transition. Sales are going to follow, thanks to our iconic models, which are proving highly successful. One of the Group’s strong characteristics is resilience, and when we look back at past events, we always manage to generate growth. True luxury is to endure in a changing world.
