- Jaguar is buying back 2,760 I-Pace EVs from US owners due to the risk of fire.
- Drivers had previously been told to limit charging to 80 percent and park outside.
- The news comes as Jaguar is fighting against global ridicule of its attempts to rebrand.
Jaguar is going to extreme lengths to deal with a fire risk problem on its recently-axed I-Pace EV. The British automaker has agreed to buy back 2,760 2019MY examples sold in the US to get the situation resolved, at least in its customers’ eyes.
The problem relates to concerns about batteries overheating and potentially catching fire, something that has been an issue with the I-Pace for several years now. Previous recalls have applied software-based fixes but data revealed that some 2019 cars that have received the remedy are still suffering thermal overloads. To date, three of the 2019MY EVs have caught fire despite receiving a software update.
Related: Jaguar I-Pace Owners Told To Park Outside After 3 Fires Involving Previously Recalled EVs
In August Jag told owners to park outside and away from buildings and announced that another code update would limit the car’s to an 80 percent charge as a temporary fix. A “permanent remedy is under development,” the company said at the time, and this month we learned that the permanent remedy means Jaguar dipping into its pockets to buy back almost 3,000 cars.
The good news for Jag is that the I-Pace has suffered from horrific depreciation, so the bill, while still huge, isn’t going to be as big as it could have been. And we imagine a large proportion of the affected owners will be glad to see the back of their trouble-prone cars, even if they are great to drive and they end up with less to spend on a new car than they were hoping.
Ordinarily, a story about a carmaker having to buy back thousands of six-year-old EVs due to a safety issue would be a PR disaster for the automaker involved. But after having been subjected to a week of ridicule over its attempts to rebrand, Jag execs are probably delighted that an I-Pace recall has nobly offered to deflect some of the attention.
Jaguar is relaunching itself as an electric-only Porsche and Bentley rival and will show a concept version of the first of three new models on December 2. To underline the shift, Jag has killed off its entire current model line and come up with new logos and branding that were met with derision and confusion online.
