Concerned that Elon Musk’s production hell might be contagious, and that it could be spreading to other EV manufacturers, I checked-in with a knowledgeable contact close to Jaguar’s I-Pace program. Jaguar’s I-Pace is an upcoming premium-EV that is already sold out months before its arrival sometime in 2018, and according to its father, Wolfgang Ziebart, the I-Pace is a “Tesla-beater.” Might the I-Pace also be delayed somewhere at the bottom of a stepped exponential S-curve, I asked.
“In Graz, the I-Paces are peacefully rolling off the line, together with the E-Pace,” my very well-informed contact answered.
Graz in Austria is where contract manufacturer Magna Steyr is. The I and E Paces were outsourced to Magna, because Jaguar Land Rover’s UK plants are bursting at the seams. The E-Pace is another impending Jaguar, a slightly smaller SUV than JLR’s F-Pace.
The I and E-Paces should go on sale next year, so what are they doing peacefully trundling off a manufacturing line in Austria? JLR does what every automaker does, every one except for Tesla: JLR runs a pre-production series for many months, and it does so until what is coming out at the end of the line is absolutely perfect.
The cars made during pre-production aren’t sold. They are studied very carefully, and then they are destroyed.
Why? Ziebart had explained that to me months ago:
“O.K., so you finally have that new car with all the bits it is supposed to be produced with. You also have something else: Some 3,000 minor quibbles, all in themselves no show stoppers, but in total, it’s not the quality a customer demands. For a truly refined car, you must work through these 3,000 nitpickings. And finally, you also need to be able to replicate it on a production line, which runs at one car every two minutes.”
Mind you, in Graz, the I and E Paces are made on a well-designed and very flexible line. According to our research, confirmed by many other media outlets (here is a good one) the production line is still being built. A pre-production phase usually takes six months and more. Getting a new line up to speed can take a year or more, especially with unfamiliar personnel.
The way things stand, the Jaguar I-Pace may be at dealers before Tesla’s Model 3 finally is being produced in appreciable quantities.
“You can spend the time in preparation, or you can waste it doing costly re-work,” the insider said.