A look at Jaguar's journey from manufacturing sidecars in 1922 to going all-electric by 2025

Born in 1922, the group launched its first car 13 years later.

By AFP | Feb 16, 2021, 05.41 PM IST

From the side car (right inset) in 1921 to the XK120 (left inset) in 1953, Jaguar has come a long way. (In Pic: Jaguar I-Pace) (Image: www.jaguarheritage.com & Jaguar's Twitter handle)

LONDON: British luxury car brand Jaguar on Monday revealed plans to construct only electric vehicles from 2025, or more than a century since its birth as a manufacturer of motorcycle sidecars.

Born in 1922 as the Swallow Sidecar Company, the group launched its first car 13 years later, before switching its name to Jaguar after the Second World War in 1945.

Jaguar "conveys Britishness", noted Peter Wells, professor of business and sustainability at the Centre for Automotive Industry Research.

"Historically, Jaguar was the car of so-called 'self-made men'... but also then became rather more dashing, and the sports cars became something of a choice for footballers and other celebrities," Wells told AFP.

Its premium saloon models have also been a favourite of British prime ministers.

In 1948, Jaguar launched the XK120 sports car, which went on to win the 24 hours of Le Mans race in 1951.

The Jaguar won the event five times in the 1950s, thanks also to its C and D types.

Jaguar's only all-electric vehicle to date is the I-Pace, which retails at around £65,000

In 1961, it launched what was to become arguably its most iconic sports car, the E-type.

After merging with British Motor Corporation in 1968, Jaguar became an independent company once more and was listed on London's benchmark FTSE 100 index a few years before its purchase by Ford in 1989.

With the US giant in big financial trouble around the time of the global financial crisis in 2008, Jaguar was bought by current Indian owners Tata Motors.

Tata also bought Land Rover from Ford to form Jaguar Land Rover, currently Britain's largest carmaker.

JLR on Monday also announced that Land Rover would have it first fully-electric vehicle in 2024.

While seen as a vital move to meet growing consumer demand for greener transport, Mike Hawes, chief executive of UK automotive lobby group SMMT, said JLR's future roadmap was also a "long-term commitment to the UK".

"The UK automotive industry is essentially strong, innovative and agile, but the global competition is fierce," Hawes said in a statement, as Britain's trading landscape is shaken up by Brexit.

Jaguar's premium saloon models have also been a favourite of British prime ministers.

Delivering JLR's ambition "will require the UK to improve its competitiveness", he added.

British union Unite meanwhile described the JLR outlook as "good news in challenging economic times for the company's estimated 40,000 UK employees", largely working out of facilities in England's West Midlands.

Jaguar's only all-electric vehicle to date is the I-Pace, which retails at around £65,000 ($90,500, 74,500 euros).

From Mercedes 4MATIC+ Coupe To JLR Defender, Motown Beauties That Ruled The Streets In 2020

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The Covid-19 pandemic caused a major economic slowdown, affecting the growth of several industries and the auto sector was no exception. Covid-19 led to supply chain disruptions and production halt in the latter half of March 2020, as reported by the Economic Times.

However, this didn’t stop the industry bigwigs and luxury car makers from churning out one new automobile after another. Many car and bike manufacturers launched high-end vehicles with super-fast engines and visual appeal.

While the auto industry may have shifted gears in 2020, it did see some high-profile launches. Here are all the motown beauties that ruled the streets in 2020.