Next-generation Jaguar XJ won't be electric-only

Jaguar plans on making a gasoline-powered engine available.

Jaguar has massive changes in store for the next generation of its XJ flagship. The model will be available with a battery-powered drivetrain, but sources familiar with the company's product plans said it won't give up gasoline entirely.

The next-generation XJ will be one of the first cars built on Jaguar-Land Rover's modular MLA platform. Fittingly, another early adopter will be the next-generation Range Rover. Various Jaguar executives -- including outgoing design chief Ian Callum -- have promised the sedan will be more of a revolution than an evolution, partially in a bid to make the next XJ more popular than the current model.

It will be released as an electric model, according to insiders who spoke to Automotive News Europe. Aimed at the Tesla Model S and the upcoming Audi E-Tron GT, the battery-powered XJ will be built around a 90.2-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, and its maximum driving range will check in at nearly 300 miles. Buyers who don't want or need an electric car will be able to order the XJ with a gasoline-powered straight-six engine a little bit later in its life cycle.

The MLA platform can accommodate electric powertrains, plug-in hybrid technology, and a mild hybrid layout, so odds are the six will be teamed with some form of electrification. Additional technical specifications remain under wraps, and Jaguar hasn't confirmed what the next XJ will be underpinned by.

We won't have to wait long to find out which powertrains Jaguar's range-topper will come with. Production of the current-generation XJ (pictured) ends in July 2019, and we could see its replacement before the end of the year. It will begin arriving in showrooms in 2020, meaning it might be labeled a 2021 model in the United States.