Jaguar News

It’s a brand new year and brand new car buying thoughts turn to vehicle build plates. Dealers are keen to shift their existing stock before prior year manufacturing dates become a millstone around their automotive necks.But what if the model in question has been publicly put to the sword and it’s not just a matter of a ‘2025 Plate Clearance Sale’?Some of these cars may have been around for quite a while. In rare instances, slow sellers celebrating a birthday (or two?) in retail captivity, waiting hopefully for a new owner to take them to their forever home.These are affectionately referred to as zombie cars. Still offered for sale but the production tap may be about to be turned off, or it’s even been twisted to the right some time ago.If you’re looking for a cut-price new car and you don’t mind if it’s been sitting on the shelf for a period of time, here’s a rundown of some four-wheeled zombies to give you a little extra leverage when twisting a salesperson’s arm.BMW Z4 - This sleek two-seat roadster was developed in a joint-venture with Toyota that also spawned the (similarly discontinued) fifth-generation Supra.Production is scheduled to end this March with a ‘Frozen Matt Black’ Final Edition model     including four- and six-cylinder variants, the order window for the car opening and closing this month.But don’t get too excited. Sadly, the Final Edition won’t be available in Australia. However, there are still Z4’s on showroom floors here and there around the country. After all, three found homes in December last year. Get in quick!Fiat 500 - The internal combustion version of this diminutive Italian (in Fiat and Abarth form) ceased production in June 2024 thanks largely to EU safety regulations sending it out of bounds.A 500 Ibrida Hybrid is due to begin production imminently, but it’s quite a different car designed to supplement 500e production (global demand for which has been underwhelming) and riding on the same platform.The ICE car is still offered up on the Fiat Australia website, in 1.2L four-cylinder Dolcevita form at around $30,775, drive-away.Hyundai i20 N - Hyundai has made no bones about the fact its i20N hot hatch is kaput, with production scheduled to finish this March.But Hyundai Australia has reached into the cash drawer and ordered up enough cars to satisfy predicted local demand through 2026.So, this brilliant little performance car will be a zombie in name only. But we wouldn’t leave it too late to get your hands on one. With 150kW/275Nm in a brilliantly responsive compact package it’s not to be missed.Jaguar E-Pace / F-Type - There isn’t a car company on the planet that’s been more transparent about ending production of a current model. In fact, (almost) every one of its models!Jaguar suspended manufacturing of its then existing internal combustion cars in mid-2024  in preparation for a brave new all-electric, ultra-premium future… except for the F-Pace SUV, soldiering on at JLR’s Solihull plant.Amazingly, local sales of the E-Pace SUV grew four per cent year-on-year in 2025 despite the manufacturing halt. And examples of the stunning F-Pace sports car continue to trickle out into the world.Jeep Grand Cherokee - The Aussie axe fell on Jeep’s Grand Cherokee early last year, the once hugely popular model discontinued locally in response to a less than stellar sales performance after launching here in 2023.Part of the problem was a solid price hike for the fifth-gen version and having ripped off the Band-Aid by announcing its local departure, parent company Stellantis promptly dropped the price of the Limited variant to $60,000, drive-away (previously $72,950, before on-road costs).Lo and behold, year-on-year Grand Cherokee sales ticked up 4.3 per cent for 2025, but registration numbers are dwindling now. It’s still up on the website, so it might be the perfect time to move in for a super-sharp deal.Suzuki Ignis / S-Cross - The pocket-sized Ignis SUV was confirmed for departure from the Australian market in early 2025 in response to new Australian Design Rule (ADR) requirements mandating more advanced AEB performance.Examples of the 1.2-litre four-seat city SUV were still rolling out Suzuki showroom doors in December last year so there are cars floating around the brand’s retail network.Same story for the compact S-Cross crossover, which struggled with that ADR compliance and reached the end of the road production-wise around the same time. Again, a number are still finding homes close to 12 months after its death notice was issued.Toyota Fortuner - A clear oversupply of large three-row SUVs was tidied up by Toyota Australia with an announcement to confirm the axing of its Fortuner model in November last year. Which still leaves the Kluger, LandCruiser Prado and LandCruiser 300 as available seven-seat Toyota options.Sharing the same body-on-frame platform as the HiLux ute, the off-road capable Fortuner will finish production around the middle of this year.  The Fortuner battled for clear air in the mix with its in-house competition, attracting just 3407 customers in 2025, while the Ford Ranger-based Everest sold 26,161 units. 

The Freelander name will be revived in 2026 as Chery and Jaguar Land Rover re-shape their partnership, according to Car News China. It is expected the brand’s first car will be a large seven-seat SUV available with electric and range-extender set-ups. The Freelander has been confirmed for a launch in the Middle East in 2026, with no other regions outside of China officially confirmed at this stage. There is no news on whether the Freelander will wind up in Australia, but if it does, it would be another hybrid rival to the BYD Sealion 8, Chery Tiggo 8 and MG QS. This will be Chery Jaguar Land Rover partnership's first car sold outside of China. The news was revealed after Chery invited public tenders for a marketing agency to create the core visual assets, among other things for the launching Freelander.While bearing the Freelander name, it has been speculated that it will feature Chery’s Exeed brand’s EOX platform. This lends to the likelihood of the Freelander being available in electric and range-extender variants, as on Exeed Star Era ET, which uses the same platform. Freelander-branded cars have already been spotted in China during 2025 road tests of the vehicles. The car features a familiar Land Rover look, with a similar grille and light cluster along with sleek roof design. The Freelander name first started as a Land Rover model alongside other well-known examples such as the Discovery and the Defender. The Freelander project was officially announced in mid-2024 as an electric-only and China-exclusive model.It now looks like plans have changed with the Middle East confirmed for the Freelander brand. We could get our first look at the Freelander as early as April at the Beijing Auto Show. 

In the years since the likes of GWM and MG established a beachhead for Chinese automotive brands in the local new car market a slew of others have followed.Economics 101 says increased competition in a mature market will quickly stimulate activity, generating big winners and significant losers.And the reality of 2025’s vehicle registration data, compiled by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI VFacts) and the Electric Vehicle Council (EVC), has graphically validated that economic theory.More than 30 of the 60 passenger car and light commercial brands monitored by VFacts and the EVC went backwards in terms of sales volume in 2025 compared to 2024.But the winners were BIG, the top two improvers experiencing spectacular growth; the overall champ almost sending the needle off the clock.Of course, some were coming off a relatively small sales base, with increasing supply and expanding model line-ups inflating percentage figures. So, for context, we’ll also note outright volume increases and only include brands that recorded full-year sales in 2024.Here are our top five countdowns for biggest new car sales winners and losers in 2025.5) Rolls-Royce: Okay, it’s 13 extra cars for 2025 over 2024, but when each one of them retails for a minimum of $700K that’s some handy incremental profit margin. Obviously, for a select few it’s a case of ‘cost-of-living crisis be damned’, with no less than eight extra Cullinan SUVs and the same number of sedans finding a home last year. 4) Mini: A big year for Mini, including a major JCW-focused refresh across the range as well as a burst of sales for the pure-electric Aceman line-up. There were substantial boosts for the Cabrio (+100 per cent), Cooper (+45.2 per cent) and Countryman (+19 per cent).   3) Polestar: It was a case of swings and roundabouts for the Swedish EV specialist with the Polestar 2 liftback dropping sales while the larger 3 and 4 SUVs expanded total numbers by close to 40 per cent. Stand by for the performance-focused Polestar 5 GT’s impact when it arrives here mid-year.2) BYD: Market appetite for BYD’s products grew in parallel with its model range, the Chinese giant’s Aussie line-up expanding from four to eight models. Newcomers like the Atto 1, Atto 2 and Sealion 7 grew its share of the pie dramatically, but the star of the show was the Shark 6 hybrid ute, racking up more than 18,000 sales for the year.1) Chery: The sharply-priced Tiggo 4 Pro small SUV has proved a smash hit for Chery with sales building steadily over 2025, to the point where it’s nipping at the heels of the category-leading Hyundai Kona and MG ZS. Adding the large Tiggo 9 large SUV also delivered handy incremental sales.5) Suzuki: Despite the addition of the Fronx small hybrid SUV mid-year (which captured a handy 1667 sales) the evergreen Japanese brand went backwards in 2025, with stocks of the discontinued Ignis dwindling, Swift sales decreasing and even the cult-favourite Jimny in decline.   4) Jaguar: Kind of a no-brainer given the brand very publicly pulled the pin on production of everything except the F-Pace SUV for 12 months in preparation for a new, more premium range ramping up through 2026 and 2027. The big surprise is sales of the E-Pace growing four per cent year-on-year despite the manufacturing halt. Must have been a few in stock.  3) Maserati: Sales volume dropping by close to a third is rarely a good thing but with the Maserati Levante SUV falling off the radar there weren’t enough Grecale SUV buyers ready to pick up the slack. The Granturismo and Grancabrio coupe and convertible GTs were also missing in action creating a low ebb for the iconic Italian. 2) Jeep: Speaking of iconic brands, Jeep has been fighting well-publicised head winds in its US home market thanks to a seemingly ill-advised move to a more premium positioning with prices to match. Despite a slight sales uptick for the Grand Cherokee as it leaves the local stage, serious falls for the Wrangler 4WD and Gladiator ute also took the wind out of Jeep’s sales here.1) Lotus: Who would have thought a brand famous for simplifying and adding lightness in producing race-ready sports cars would be punished for heading down the pure-electric path with a heavy SUV (Eletre) and big four-door GT (Emeya). Even the internal-combustion mid-engine Emira (despite a stay of production execution) dropped by more than 50 per cent.   

If you thought Jaguar was in a state of turmoil in late 2024, that period of reinvention and provocative communication has nothing on the latter part of 2025.

Jaguar has produced its final internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, at least for now.

In what could signal a monumental change in direction, Jaguar Land Rover has farewelled the designer responsible for some of its most iconic models.Gerry McGovern, who served as a design director at JLR since 2004, was responsible for a design renaissance at the company. He led the design of the brand’s comparatively successful era in the 2010s, which included the Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Range Rover Sport (L494) and Discovery 4.McGovern recently oversaw the design of the controversial, but successful, new-generation Defender, which replaced the brand’s historic original ladder-frame Series models in 2019.His last design to make it to the public realm is perhaps his most controversial yet, the Jaguar Type 00 concept. It was said to be inspired by Renaissance architecture, and at the time was seen as a harbinger for a re-booted Jaguar for the electric era.The concept and its associated reveal video was not well received by the public. Jaguar said its evolution would move it into an ultra-premium market segment rather than the BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi rival, which it had previously been.A four-door Porsche Taycan rival, which has been spotted testing, is expected to be the first model in the brand’s new electrified line-up using styling cues from the Type 00 concept.McGovern’s reported exit comes amidst corporate change for Jaguar Land Rover, with a new CEO taking up the reins after recent management departures.The new leader, PB Balaji, was appointed from JLR’s parent company, Tata motors. He was the Indian giant’s CFO previously, and the departure of McGovern shortly after his taking the reins could indicate a change in direction for the storied automaker.Other massive changes in store for the brand include the incoming re-boot of the Freelander marque as a sub-brand, leveraging the company's joint-venture with Chinese giant Chery.The incoming range of Freelander SUVs are expected to use Chery's next-generation E0X platform, which is designed to more cost-effectively support electrified powertrains, and the SUVs will initially be built at the JV's Changshu plant in China. Land Rover has had a decent year so far in Australia, with sales up 8.3 per cent. By far its best seller is the Defender, which is up 22.6 per cent until the end of October, moving 3379 units.Its next most popular model is the Range Rover Sport (1982 units, up 7.3 per cent), while the full-size Range Rover, Velar, Discovery Sport, and fifth-generation Discovery have all amassed less than 400 units this year.Jaguar, meanwhile, has dwindled to just 479 units total this year, moving just 13 units in October, mostly of remaining stock of the F-Pace SUV. The brand has no new product on the immediate horizon for Australia, suggesting its prolonged hiatus will continue.

From European airports and Asian defence forces to US retailers and Australian telcos cyber attacks continue to wreak commercial and personal havoc around the globe.

It’s been over five years now since COVID lockdowns started and in some way it feels like a lifetime ago. For a lot of people buying new cars during this period, however, there were long wait times. COVID lockdowns were a key reason for this, but another major reason for delays was the global shortage of semiconductors.

Jaguar has just confirmed its launching a special, final edition of the fire-breathing F-Pace SVR exclusively for Australia.

The Kia Tasman ute hasn’t even arrived yet, but the outcry over its looks has been huge, with people saying it’s not just the ugliest car they have ever seen but the ugliest thing they’ve seen ever, like in their entire lives.