Expensive Jaguar I-Pace ends up as scrap in Norway due to fire hazard. Battery fault forces Jaguar to buy back 130 cars from owners.
A large number of Jaguar I-Pace electric cars are facing a sad fate in Norway. A total of 130 examples of the luxury electric car are to be scrapped.
The reason is a serious defect in the cars' batteries, which poses a potential fire hazard. Almost 100 of the abandoned cars are gathered at a single scrapyard.
The affected cars are primarily from the 2019 model year, but some are as new as 2020. Many owners paid over a million kroner for the cars a few years ago. Now they end up in the scrapyard instead.
This is what Motor.no writes.
The problem lies in the battery of electric cars. It can suffer from thermal overload. This means that the battery can overheat and, in the worst case, catch fire. The situation has created insecurity among owners.
One of the affected owners is Trond Christoffersen. He experienced how his Jaguar I-Pace suddenly started emitting thick, blue-black smoke near the family cabin. Fortunately, a passerby reacted quickly.
Together they managed to push the car away from the cabin in time. "If it had happened at night, the cabin and we would have gone with it. It was scary. We don't have much good to say about the car," Trond Christoffersen tells Motor.no.
Flammable battery causes fear
A total of 270 Jaguar I-Paces in Norway have been identified with the problematic battery. A total of 7,762 of the model were sold in the country. The battery fault is therefore a problem for a smaller proportion of the cars sold.
After a period of uncertainty, Jaguar has now reached an agreement with 130 of the Norwegian owners. The agreement involves Jaguar buying back the affected cars, several sources confirm.
An owner tells Motor.no that Jaguar offered 290,000 Swedish kronor for his car. That amount corresponds to approximately 180,000 Danish kronor. "I'm glad I got rid of the car," an owner tells the media outlet.
However, not all owners have chosen to accept the buyback offer. 140 other Norwegian owners have instead chosen to wait. They hope to have the old battery replaced with a new and safe one.
Jaguar has also dealt with similar cases in other countries. In the US, the automaker previously recalled 2,800 Jaguar I-Paces due to the same battery fault.
Buybacks and recalls
The situation is different in neighboring Sweden, where the Jaguar I-Pace with the potentially flammable battery is also available. However, so far there are no reports that Jaguar has bought back cars in Sweden.
Instead, Jaguar in Sweden has issued recalls. The affected cars have, among other things, been fitted with new software. The software is intended to monitor the battery condition more closely to detect any problems early.
"I can't answer general questions, but we have also carried out recalls in Sweden," Elisabeth Levinsohn, PR manager at Swedish Jaguar, said back in February about the matter.
It is a significant step when so many relatively new luxury cars have to be scrapped. It raises questions about both the safety and environmental impact of electric cars and their batteries.
At Boosted.dk we follow the development within electric cars closely. You can read more news about Jaguar and other car brands, as well as tests and articles about the latest technology within the automotive world.
For example, find our latest articles about the range of electric cars or safety tests of new models on Boosted.dk.
Here in Denmark, the Jaguar importer refuses to buy back the problematic cars. The problems, which have now been identified in both Norway and the USA, have nothing to do with the Danish cars , the explanation is.
