Jaguar Land Rover delays launch of new Range Rover Electric
Britain’s largest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover, has delayed the planned launches of its new electric Range Rover and electric Jaguar models to give it time for more testing and for demand to pick up, the Guardian can reveal.JLR has written to customers waiting for the Range Rover Electric to inform them that deliveries of the new version of the model will not start until next year, after initially aiming for late 2025.Two people with knowledge of the carmaker’s plans said that two planned Jaguar models – much anticipated since a viral pink-and-blue rebrand – may also be pushed back by several months compared with original plans.JLR has been hit by the impact of Donald Trump’s tariffs in recent months; this week it reported a 15.1% drop in sales in the three months to June after a temporary pause in exports to the US.
It has also opened a voluntary redundancy scheme for up to 500 managers in an effort to save costs.However, sales are expected to improve after the UK’s limited trade deal with the US provided for lower 10% tariffs on the first 100,000 exports.The company has reported a profit for the past 10 consecutive quarters after a turnaround effort.The carmaker, owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata, has been more cautious in embracing electric technology than luxury vehicle rivals.That had left it in danger of steep fines for failing to hit UK electric vehicle sales targets, but that pressure has eased after the UK weakened the rules, known as the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, in response to heavy lobbying by carmakers including JLR.
A JLR spokesperson said: “By 2030 JLR will sell electric versions of all its luxury brands,Our plans and vehicle architectures are flexible so we can adapt to different market and client demands,We are committed to the highest standards of design, capability and quality, and we will launch our new models at the right time for our clients, our business and individual markets,”Model launch delays of several weeks or even months are not unusual, as carmakers try to align their products to the market,Getting the launch date right is particularly important for Jaguar, which JLR is hoping to reinvent as an electric-only brand that will appeal to younger, wealthier buyers.
A promotional campaign in December featuring bright pink and blue concept cars spurred a huge wave of interest – as well as a culture war backlash after a teaser trailer featuring a diverse group of models.The start of production for the first Jaguar electric car since the rebrand, known for now as the Type 00, is set for August 2026, according to a source with knowledge of schedules.Although prices have not yet been confirmed, it is expected to cost more than £100,000.The second Jaguar model may not then follow until December 2027.A new electric version of the Range Rover Velar is also set to start production in April 2026, although it also could be delayed further, the source said.
An electric model under the Defender sub-brand could start production in the first quarter of 2027,Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionJLR declined to comment on specific model launch dates,Two people with knowledge of JLR’s manufacturing operations said the delays had partly been caused by the need to carry out extended testing, because they are the first electric models to to be directly built by the manufacturer,JLR previously sold the electric Jaguar I-Pace, but it was built by a contract manufacturer,One of the people said the delays may not harm JLR financially, because they will allow the company to continue to sell its lucrative petrol and diesel hybrid versions.
People inside JLR have said “the delay has worked in our favour” and “let’s not rush this”, the person said.Trump’s policies have also made a delay more attractive for JLR, because his administration is actively trying to discourage the shift to electric cars in the US, the manufacturer’s key market.Trump’s brief period of collaboration with the Tesla boss, Elon Musk, has collapsed into acrimony.JLR’s slower shift to electric vehicles would also align with the start of production by a battery factory being built by Tata in Somerset.The plant, built by a subsidiary named Agratas, is due to start production in the last quarter of 2027, according to Tata Motors’s latest investor call.
That is a year later than the company initially planned,
Two UK charities donate millions to Israeli settlement in occupied West Bank
Two UK charities have transferred millions of pounds to an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank with the endorsement of the charities regulator, the Guardian can reveal.Documents show that the Kasner Charitable Trust (KCT), via a conduit charity, UK Toremet, has donated approximately £5.7m to the Bnei Akiva Yeshiva high school in Susya, in the Israeli-occupied territory.As the budget of the school increased significantly as a result of the donations, the number of pupils, employees at the school and Susya residents have all increased.Dror Etkes, an expert on Israeli settlement, said: “The school is likely the largest single source of employment in the settlement, and constitutes one of the main elements of the entire settlement’s existence
Hopes of averting doctors’ strike after ‘constructive’ meeting with Streeting
Hopes are rising that next week’s strike by resident doctors in England will be called off after their leaders had a “constructive” meeting with the health secretary and agreed to hold further talks.The co-chairs of the British Medical Association’s resident doctors committee met Wes Streeting for 90 minutes – longer than the hour they had planned – in Westminster on Thursday afternoon.“We had a constructive conversation with the BMA today and we’ll be having further conversations in the coming days to try to avoid strike action”, Streeting said.He urged co-chairs Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt to abandon the doctors’ union’s plan for the 55,000 resident – formerly junior – doctors it represents to strike from 7am next Friday, 25 July, regardless of the outcome of their next set of talks. It is unclear when they will happen
Patients in England’s most deprived areas wait longer for NHS treatment, data reveals
Patients from the most deprived areas of England face longer waits for NHS treatment and make up a higher proportion of those waiting for care, according to figures.Data released by NHS England on Thursday provides a breakdown of the health service’s waiting lists by ethnicity and deprivation levels for the first time. It shows that people in the most deprived areas of England and people from ethnic minority backgrounds make up a disproportionate and growing proportion of those waiting for NHS treatment.An average of 3.1% of patients living in the most deprived areas had been waiting more than a year to begin treatment as of June, compared with 2
Resident doctors’ pay demands won’t get the public on side | Letters
I agree with Wes Streeting that the forthcoming five-day strike by resident doctors in England is “completely unreasonable” (Resident doctors accused of ‘greedy’ pay demands before Streeting talks, 17 July). It is less than a year since their last pay dispute was settled, following a bitter war that lasted 18 months. Patient care suffered again and again.Tactically propagated via targeted social media, this conflict will rapidly spread across borders to the devolved nations. Therefore we in Wales must also anticipate a cruel and chaotic disruption to NHS care by the autumn
Autism is not an excuse for bad behaviour | Letter
Yet again, the autistic community (which includes me, diagnosed at age 49) utters a collective groan as another high-profile miscreant tries to use their autistic neurodiversity as an excuse for their unacceptable behaviour (Yes, the problem is men like Gregg Wallace – but it’s also those who should stop them and don’t, 10 July).Any autistic person will tell you that they’re no stranger to messing up and embarrassing themselves in a social situation. But they will also tell you how mortified they were, how they apologised or retreated in shame, and then worked extra hard at finding ways to avoid making the same mistake in future.What they never do is gaslight the person making the complaint, or try to shift the blame anywhere but themselves; that is the trait of a narcissist. Autistic people can be narcissists and narcissistic people can also be autistic – there’s no causal link, so let’s please leave autism out of this discussion, as it’s entirely irrelevant
Join the army, work full-time … and now vote: what 16-year-olds can do in the UK
Turning 16 opens up a whole suite of exciting new freedoms. Now, those celebrating their baby steps into adulthood in the UK have another thrilling task for their to-do lists: heading to the voting booth.Thursday marked one of the largest changes to the country’s democratic system in recent times after Labour announced the voting age would be lowered to 16 before the next general election.Scotland and Wales have already made the change for Holyrood and Senedd elections, as well as local council elections, but the move means 16-year-olds will have a say over who becomes prime minister for the first time.For some, the change has been a long time coming, especially considering what 16-year-olds can already legally do:Those aged 16 and 17 can join the British army as a junior soldier, where they will learn survival skills including handling and firing weapons
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