A few decades down the track, this year and next are going to be looked back upon as the years that saw European automakers embrace electric-car production. And, the Jaguar I-Pace will be seen as one of the first.
The shapely electric SUV landed in New Zealand earlier this year, beating the likes of the Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi e-tron to the punch. But, with pricing starting at $159,900 for the entry-level S (and $169,900 and $179,900 for the SE and HSE respectively), you could hardly call it cheap.
But, those prices are now old hat. Jaguar NZ has today announced new pricing across the board, with each of those models getting $15,000 trimmed from their figure. This leaves the S, SE, and HSR to be priced at $144,900, $154,900, and $164,900 — not including on-roads.
Those who have already pre-purchased the vehicle shan't despair; these price changes apply to you, too.
Read more: Road test — reviewing the I-Pace, Jaguar's first electric car
“One of the challenges we have faced when establishing a new category is ensuring that the price point we set is aligned with both market expectations and the pricing of other premium EVs which are just now coming on to the market," said Jaguar NZ general manager Steve Kenchington.
“What we have seen since the I-Pace was first announced here is that the market dynamics operate quite differently compared to countries where there are EV incentives in place; and yet this hasn’t hampered demand for this model at all."
The natural assumption when a brand announces price cuts like these is to think that buyers must be low. But, according to Kenchington, that's not the case. New Zealand's I-Pace pre-sales are reportedly higher than the likes of Singapore, Japan, and South Korea (all of whom have much higher populations).
“What this is telling us is that there is an opportunity for Jaguar to take a substantially larger share of this category,” adds Kenchington.
“There was a very high level of interest once pre-sales began and since then - it has already scooped the UK, German and European Car of the Year awards, and is a top three finalist for World Car of the Year. In recent weeks we have seen it lift even further as more Kiwis have had the chance to experience the performance of this next generation electric vehicle."
Of course, the other motivation for the price change could have been confirmation of Audi e-tron pricing. The four-ring'd EV SUV is scheduled to land in New Zealand later this year with an entry-level price of $148,500, which was over $10k cheaper than the cheapest I-Pace but is now instead a few grand more expensive.
Coincidence? Who knows.