Jaguar Pips Land Rover In EV Race — E-Pace Gets 'Green' Signal

Jaguar looks all set to pip sister carmaker Land Rover in the race to build the first electric vehicle (EV) from the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) group.

According to Autocar UK, Jaguar has greenlit the production of a compact SUV which is expected to be called the E-Pace. The E-Pace is set to be launched in 2018, one year ahead of Land Rover's electric SUV, as it aims to link the new SUV with its entry into Formula E.

The new E-Pace will be based on Jaguar Land RoverEV platform unveiled a year ago at a low carbon event in England. At the event, the platform was unveiled underpinning the Evoque e concept EV.

However, Jaguar, have taken the lead for the compact electric SUV project and the design of the E-Pace has only recently been signed off by Jaguar. Speaking of design, the new E-Pace will look similar to its fossil fuel chugging sibling, the F-Pace, but will feature a more dramatic styling and a lower roofline. The new SUV will also be slightly smaller than the F-Pace in terms of size.

The new SUV will be more of performance model as Jaguar aims to focus on performance and handling to show of its EV prowess.