The all-electric Jaguar I-PACE has completed an historic treble at the 2019 World Car Awards. Not only has it won the coveted 2019 World Car of the Year and World Car Design of the Year titles –equalling the success of the F-PACE in 2017 – it has also been named World Green Car.
I-PACE is the first model ever to win three World Car titles in the 15-year history of the awards.
This latest win for the I-PACE, awarded at the New York International Auto Show by a panel of 86 motoring journalists from 24 countries, comes just weeks after it claimed the European Car of Year title, and affirms its status as the most desirable premium electric vehicle (EV) in the world.
In the last year alone, I-PACE has received a number of high-profile UK awards, including UK Car of the Year, Sunday Times Car of the Year, Stuff Magazine’s ‘Best Car’ and T3’s ‘Best Car’. Throughout the world it has also been named both German and Norway’s Car of the Year and China’s Green Car of the Year.
Prof. Dr. Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “It is an honour that the Jaguar I-PACE has received these three accolades from the prestigious World Car jurors.
“We started with an ideal, to move towards our Destination Zero vision; zero emissions, zero accidents and zero congestion. I-PACE is our first step to achieving this, and it was conceived when EVs were little more than a niche choice.
“So we started from a clean sheet of paper to create a new benchmark -the world's best premium electric vehicle, and a true Jaguar driver's car.
“For I-PACE to be awarded 2019 World Car of the Year, World Car Design of the Year and World Green Car gives our first all-electric vehicle the ultimate recognition it deserves. I would like to thank the team who have created I-PACE for their passion in making it so outstanding.”
Designed and developed in the UK, I-PACE is attracting new customers to the Jaguar brand, for many of whom it will also be their first EV–to date, over 11,000 customers in more than 60 countries worldwide have taken delivery. Its combination of sports car performance, zero emissions, exceptional refinement and true SUV practicality make I-PACE the stand-out choice in its segment.
Ian Callum, Jaguar Director of Design, who was in New York to accept the awards, said: “Designing Jaguar cars is probably the best job in the world, and I can honestly say that no other project I’ve worked on has been as rewarding as I-PACE. Electric vehicles offer designers unprecedented freedom to rethink the proportions, the profile and the packaging, and it’s an opportunity that my team has exploited in full. Winning the 2019 World Car Design of the Year award, as well as World Car of the Year and World Green Car, is true recognition for their achievements. ”
The I-PACE’s dramatic, cab-forward profile, short overhangs and taut, muscular haunches give it a sense of drama which set it apart from other SUVs. The spacious interior –enabled by the bespoke electric vehicle architecture –is finished with beautiful premium details and exacting Jaguar craftsmanship.
I-PACE has a state-of-the-art 90kWh lithium-ion battery and delivers a range of up to 292 miles (WLTP cycle). It’s capable of charging from 0-80% in just 40 minutes (100kW DC), or takes just over ten hours to achieve the same state of charge when using a domestic wallbox (7kW AC) - ideal for overnight home-charging. A suite of smart, range-optimising technologies also include a battery pre-conditioning system: when plugged in the I-PACE will automatically raise (or lower) the temperature of its battery to maximise range ahead of driving away. The I-PACE has also earned a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating. The body structure provides high levels of occupant protection, and is complemented by technologies designed to protect other road users and pedestrians, including a deployable bonnet and autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection.
The World Car of the Year-winning I-PACE and F-PACE are joined in the Jaguar PACE family of SUV models by the compact E-PACE. During the period of April 2018 to March 2019, the E-PACE was Jaguar UK’s best-selling model, with 11,127 sales, followed by the F-PACE, which recorded 10,166 sales. In just over six months since going on sale, I-PACE recorded 1,760 sales.
Rawdon Glover, Jaguar Land Rover UK MD, said: “To have two of our PACE family models (F-PACE and I-PACE) as World Car of the Year winners and the E-PACE as Jaguar UK’s best-selling model, is as clear a sign as any of the strength of our product strategy. In the past year we have grown Jaguar’s UK sales by 20.1% in a declining market, gaining on our competitors in the process, and we continue to invest heavily into new technologies and new sectors of the market. It’s a testament to the talent of our world-class team of engineers and designers here in the UK that twice in three years has one of our models been named as best in the world.”
