Jaguar I-Pace production SUSPENDED as battery shortage hits Jaguar

Jaguar has had to suspend production of the electric I-Pace as battery supply problems bite, just as it has for Mercedes and Audi.

We’ll all be driving electric cars after 2035, say the UK government, so we have to hope battery technology and production has moved on substantially by then. Because at the moment it’s the cost and production of batteries that’s causing big issues for car makers.

The latest company to take action because of battery supply problems is Jaguar, with production of the electric I-Pace halted at Magna Steyr in Austria because they don’t have enough batteries.

It appears to be the first time Jaguar has had to actually suspend production of the I-Pace, but it does seem, in some markets, demand for the I-Pace has exceeded supply, so we must assume that production has been previously throttled, if not actually stopped, as battery supply plays havoc with car production.

The I-Pace’s batteries are supplied by LG Chem, and they are the same firm which supplies batteries to Audi and Mercedes, both of whom seem to have had supply issues too.

It’s been rumoured that Mercedes has had to cut production of the new electric EQC by half in 2020 due to a lack of battery supply from LG Chem, and Audi cut production of their electric e-tron for the same reason last year.

We did wonder if the coronavirus problems in Asia had caused the latest problem for Jaguar, but the batteries JLR buy from LG Chem are actually produced in Poland.