Jaguar’s futile attempt to take on BMW and Mercedes is over. As Automotive News explains in an in-depth look at Jaguar’s turnaround plans, former CEO Ralf Speth’s ambitions to sell one million Jaguar and Land Rover cars globally, didn’t work, and landed the company with a massive debt, putting the entire future of the Jaguar brand in doubt.

Despite some strong growth, and success of the I-Pace EV, Jaguar sales have faltered, dipping to just 102,402 in 2020, a fall of almost 37 per cent. No doubt the coronavirus pandemic played a part in that slump, but it can’t shoulder all the blame. BMW sales dropped only 8.4 per cent in the same period, and it shifted over 2 million cars. BMW’s high performance M division alone sold 40 per cent more cars than Jag’s entire operation.

“Taking on BMW, Daimler or Audi makes no sense for a company that is a quarter of its size,” CFO Adrian Mardell admitted to investors in February.

Drastic action was needed, and drastic action is what new CEO Thierry Bollore is taking. The ex-Renault man has ripped up a decade-old plan that optimistically tried to pitch Jaguar as a direct rival to the big-name premium German brands. In future, Jaguar will aim high, at Bentley and/or Porsche, and go fully electric by 2025.

Related: New Jaguar XJ Canned At The 11th Hour As New Boss Reveals Sweeping Electrification Plans for JLR

You might remember Jaguar’s shack announcement back in February that it was scrapping its new all-electric XJ (pictured above), despite the project being close to completion. Other casualties include a J-Pace crossover and car-like Land Rover EV knows as the Road Rover, as Jaguar ditched an entirely new MLA electric vehicle platform and switched tack to focuses on selling a smaller volume of higher-priced cars.

“This new brand will be lower volume, it will be more exclusive and it will be a true luxury experience,” Automotive News reports JLR’s chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern, telling investors in February.

Read: Jaguar Were Right To Cancel The XJ, But The Rest Doesn’t Make Sense

But if Jaguar is in such dire straits – and is going to need a multibillion dollar investment to turn it around – wouldn’t it make it make sense to close the brand down and concentrate solely on the far more successful Land Rover side of the business? Automotive News says explains why that won’t happen.

Jaguar’s 2022 I-Pace electric crossover

“Jaguar is a critical piece for JLR to achieve CO2 compliance” Kumar Rakesh, a lead analyst for BNP Paribas, told the website. “On its own Land Rover can’t achieve that.”

Of course, Land Rover will be able to meet targets when it switches to electric power some time in the 2030s, but Jaguar’s confirmed move to EV-only vehicles in 2025 takes the pressure off Land Rover to ditch ICE power until much later.

So Jaguar, a name with a rich history, and an incredible back catalogue of classics, but little relevance to many modern buyers, looks safe for now. The I-Pace shows what the brand is capable of when it stops worrying about the Jaguar baggage. If it can deliver more cars like that, it might just pull through.