Jaguar Joins the Ol’ NACS Port Rush of 2023

• New Jaguar models will feature Tesla's NACS charging ports starting in 2025, just as the battery-electric I-Pace will exit production.

• I-Pace owners can get an NACS adapter in the coming months, but concrete timing remains unannounced.

• Jaguar is expected to launch three new EVs starting in 2025, including two four-door models and a large SUV, amid a turn exclusively to EVs.

Jaguar has become the latest automaker to announce plans to integrate Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) into its vehicles, following in the footsteps of Ford, GM, Honda, and others that have kicked off what will be known in the future as the ol' NACS Port Rush of '23.

The automaker says it will start equipping its new models with NACS ports starting in 2025, as will a number of other automakers already announced. Before that year rolls around, Jaguar will also provide NACS adapters to owners of its existing EVs.

"Tesla has created a charging network across the globe that delivers this, and we are delighted to be working with them to provide access for Jaguar clients," said Mark Camilleri, Director of Electrification Services at Jaguar. "This agreement will enable Jaguar drivers with NACS-equipped vehicles in the USA, Canada, and Mexico to use Superchargers without an adapter."

But Jaguar was a little less definitive about when it will provide NACS adapters for the use of I-Pace owners, only indicating that it would source the adapters from Tesla. Likely, production of NACS adapters for EVs equipped with existing CCS ports will see some strain in the coming months, so Jaguar's lack of a concrete timeline for their availability is understandable.

When it comes to EVs, at the moment Jaguar offers only the I-Pace, which entered production back in 2018, and which now features a range that is a bit dated for its battery size of 90 kWh: 246 miles. The model had a decent launch six years ago and won a number of awards, but it never quite saw a tsunami of orders by Tesla standards, peaking at 17,355 units globally in 2019. In 2022, Jaguar sold 7307 units in all regions, after recording 9970 globally in 2021.

The I-Pace is currently expected to exit the stage in 2025.

But Jaguar's next electric model is just around the corner. The automaker plans to reveal a new four-door GT EV with a range of 430 miles in 2024, slated to be built in Solihull, UK, before sales begin in 2025. So this next EV will feature Tesla ports right from the start.

The four-door GT is expected to be joined by a large SUV in 2025, also based on the JEA platform, along with yet another four-door model expected to be an XJ sedan successor.

Jaguar famously shelved an earlier electric XJ sedan effort that had made it nine-tenths of the way through development in late 2021, for reasons that have never been made very clear. The model is thought to have been intended as a Tesla Model S competitor, but had been canceled at the last minute.

A three-model electric lineup will perhaps be just the right size for Jaguar, which has struggled in experimenting with its roster over the past 20 years, with periodic excursions into rarely visited segments.

Jaguar has committed to becoming an EV-only brand by 2025, far ahead of some other brands that have announced similar plans, so its gas-powered models don't have all that much time left.

The bigger question is whether its new electric models will be able to boost sales beyond I-Pace levels in the near term, just as German automakers continue their EV offensive.

Can Jaguar transition its repeat buyers into electric models starting in 2025, or is the brand still primarily know for other qualities? Let us know what you think.