JAGUAR

What is Jaguar?

William Lyons, William Walmsley founded Jaguar in 1922, headquartered in Coventry, United Kingdom. 17 models tracked (1981–2026).

Data · NHTSA & EPA · 17 models · 1981–2026 · Updated Sep 1, 2026 · 3.7 ★★★★★★★★★★ Brand Score
Quick answer

Jaguar is a British carmaker founded in 1922, now part of Tata Motors. The cars themselves are another matter: across 2 VIN prefixes on record they came off lines in 1 country — the United Kingdom 100%. 17 models are tracked here (1981–2026). Reliable? mostly, with caveats — 3.7 out of 5 across 17 rated models, though the spread between model years is far wider than the badge suggests (every model ranked →).

17
Models
1981
Since
1
Vehicle types
United Kingdom
Origin
1922
Founded

Who makes Jaguar

Jaguar is a British luxury vehicle brand headquartered in Coventry, England, and a marque of Jaguar Land Rover Limited, itself a subsidiary of Tata Motors. Founded in 1922 by William Lyons and William Walmsley as the Swallow Sidecar Company, the firm rebranded its sports-saloon line as Jaguar in 1935 and adopted Jaguar Cars Ltd. as the corporate name in 1945. Jaguar won Le Mans seven times between 1951 and 1990, and the 1961 E-Type was famously called the most beautiful car ever made by Enzo Ferrari. The brand passed through British Leyland, Ford and now Tata Motors ownership, joining sister brand Land Rover under JLR in 2008. The 2024 announcement that Jaguar will become an all-electric brand by 2025-2026 puts the company on a faster electrification timeline than any other heritage luxury marque. Jaguar Land Rover's parent Tata Motors trades on the New York Stock Exchange under TTM. Recall data for every Jaguar VIN is reported to NHTSA, and EPA fuel-economy ratings, IIHS crash-test scores and J.D. Power studies provide independent benchmarks. ForCar.org decodes any Jaguar VIN to surface trim, factory options, open recalls and original MSRP.

The Swallow Sidecar Company began making motorcycle sidecars in Blackpool in 1922 and pivoted to bodied automobiles by 1927. The SS Jaguar 100 of 1935 introduced the Jaguar name on the sports-saloon line. After WWII the SS prefix was dropped (its association with Nazi paramilitaries had become toxic) and Jaguar Cars Ltd. became the corporate name in 1945. The C-Type, D-Type and XK-SS won Jaguar's seven Le Mans victories between 1951 and 1990.

FIG.01·About Jaguar
Jaguar
Founded1922
Founded byWilliam Lyons, William Walmsley
HeadquartersCoventry, United Kingdom
Owned byTata Motors
Listed asTTM
Slogan«The Art of Performance»
Models tracked here17 (1981–2026)
Assembled in1 countries
ROWS 8·SOURCE ForCar Editorial + NHTSA VIN records

Technology it is known for: Pivi Pro infotainment, Adaptive Dynamics suspension, Configurable Dynamics, Ingenium engine family, All-Surface Progress Control.

This page covers Jaguar Cars, the British luxury automaker within JLR — not Jaguar (the animal) or any other Jaguar-branded products.

Where Jaguar cars are actually built

A badge says where a company is registered, not where its cars were bolted together. The first three characters of any VIN — the world manufacturer identifier — say the second thing, and that is what we counted: 1,990 vehicles on record, 2 distinct manufacturer codes.

FIG.02·Where Jaguar cars are built
Assembled inShareVIN starts withYears seen
the United Kingdom100%SAJ, SAD1982–2024
ROWS 1·SOURCE NHTSA records, grouped by VIN manufacturer code

Read your own: the first character is the region, the first three together identify the plant's manufacturer. A Jaguar beginning SAJ was assembled in the United Kingdom.

All Jaguar models 17

Every Jaguar model we track, grouped by body type. Click any model for its VIN decoder, recalls, MPG, safety and ForCar Reliability Score — broken down by year.

Jaguar SUVs & crossovers 3

Jaguar SUVs & crossovers by the numbers
ModelYearsRecallsComplaintsBest MPGForCar score
Jaguar F-PACE2017–20262712229 mpg3.5/5
Jaguar E-PACE2018–20266724 mpg4.5/5
Jaguar I-PACE2019–20263222585 mpg4.0/5
ROWS 3·SOURCE NHTSA + EPA + ForCar

Jaguar Cars & sedans 13

Jaguar Cars & sedans by the numbers
ModelYearsRecallsComplaintsBest MPGForCar score
Jaguar XJ2002–20194413321 mpg3.5/5
Jaguar XF2009–20266139335 mpg4.0/5
Jaguar XK2000–2015297819 mpg3.5/5
Jaguar S-Type2000–20082552120 mpg3.5/5
Jaguar XE2017–202193636 mpg3.5/5
Jaguar XK81997–20041110719 mpg4.0/5
Jaguar XJ61981–19972615919 mpg3.5/5
Jaguar XJR1995–200772518 mpg4.0/5
Jaguar XJ81998–2003510918 mpg4.0/5
Jaguar X-Type2002–20081249620 mpg3.5/5
Jaguar XJS1981–1997469318 mpg3.5/5
Jaguar XJ121991–199751813 mpg3.5/5
Jaguar Vanden Plas1988–2004264918 mpg3.5/5
ROWS 13·SOURCE NHTSA + EPA + ForCar

Jaguar More models 1

Jaguar More models by the numbers
ModelYearsRecallsComplaintsBest MPGForCar score
Jaguar F-TYPE2014–2026253426 mpg4.0/5
ROWS 1·SOURCE NHTSA + EPA + ForCar

Jaguar by the numbers

What the federal records say about the marque. Each line links to the full breakdown by model and year.

FIG.03·Jaguar by the numbers
TopicJaguarDetail
Recalls396 campaignsMost recalled: Fuel System, Gasoline
Owner complaints2,358+ filedMost reported: S-Type
Fuel economy85 mpg bestLeader: I-PACE
Insurance$2,127/yr typicalCheapest: X-Type
ROWS 4·SOURCE NHTSA, EPA and HLDI records
Upgrade to Pro

Compare model years like a dealer does.

  • Full research report on any model year
  • Market chart: how this model holds value
  • Exact values with mileage adjustment
  • Price-drop alerts on the trims you're watching
  • No ads, no tracking — and much more
Free plan available — no credit card needed

Jaguar hybrids & electric models

Jaguar's electrified lineup — 2 hybrids and 1 electric / plug-in. Click any model for its full powertrain, MPG and range by year.

Jaguar hybrids 2

Jaguar hybrids
ModelYearsBest figureRecallsForCar score
Jaguar F-PACE2017–202629273.5/5
Jaguar E-PACE2018–20262464.5/5
ROWS 2·SOURCE EPA + NHTSA

Jaguar electric & plug-in 1

Jaguar evs
ModelYearsBest figureRecallsForCar score
Jaguar I-PACE2019–202685324.0/5
ROWS 1·SOURCE EPA + NHTSA

Electrified variants from EPA fueleconomy.gov powertrain data. A model may offer gas, hybrid and electric versions across years.

JAGUAR

Get a Jaguar window sticker by VIN

Recreate any Jaguar's original Monroney label — MSRP, factory options, EPA MPG and safety — free from the VIN.

Jaguar window stickers →

How to read a Jaguar VIN

Every Jaguar built since 1981 carries a unique 17-character VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). It encodes where and when the vehicle was made, its engine and body — here's what each part means:

FIG.05·How to Read a Jaguar VIN
1–3 · WMISAD
4–8 · VDSCM826
9 · Check5
10 · YearR
11 · PlantA
12–17 · Serial004352
  • WMI (1–3) — country & manufacturer. Tells you it's a Jaguar and the country it was built in (real Jaguar codes below).
  • VDS (4–8) — model, body style, engine, trim & restraints. The 8th digit is the engine code.
  • Check digit (9) — a math check that proves the VIN is genuine.
  • Model year (10) — the year it was built (e.g. R = 2024, S = 2025).
  • Plant (11) — which factory assembled it.
  • Serial (12–17) — the unique sequential production number.
Real Jaguar WMIs — the first 3 VIN digits by build country
  • UKSAD · SAJ · SAL
17 CHARS·SOURCE SAE / ISO 3779 · NHTSA vPIC

The remaining digits — engine (8th), model-year letter (10th) and plant — follow the universal SAE standard. See exactly what your VIN decodes to: model year, assembly plant, country of origin and the full 2001–2026 year-code table.

Who owns Jaguar, and what you get

Jaguar belongs to Tata Motors. Jaguar competes in the global premium and luxury segment alongside Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and Lexus, with traditional strength in sport sedans and grand tourers. The 2024-2026 transition to an all-electric lineup, paired with significant repositioning upmarket, is intended to differentiate Jaguar from German rivals and from sister brand Land Rover within JLR. The I-PACE was Jaguar's first battery-electric crossover and led the brand's EV foundation.

FIG.04·Jaguar ownership and warranty
Jaguar
Country of originthe United Kingdom
OwnershipTata Motors
Stock tickerTTM
Basic warranty4 years / 50,000 miles
Powertrain warranty4 years / 50,000 miles
Assembly countriesUnited Kingdom
ROWS 6·SOURCE Manufacturer terms + NHTSA VIN records

⚠ Worth knowing before you rely on it: across our complaint records the typical car reaches the halfway point of its faults at five years, while basic cover here runs 4 years / 50,000 miles. See when Jaguar models actually start to break →

Jaguar — frequently asked

Is Jaguar british?

Jaguar is a British company, headquartered in Coventry and founded in 1922. The cars are a separate question: 100% of the Jaguar vehicles in our records were assembled in the United Kingdom.

Where are Jaguar cars made?

Across 2 manufacturer codes on record, assembly splits as: the United Kingdom (100%). The first three characters of a VIN identify the manufacturer and plant country — that is where these shares come from.

Who owns Jaguar?

Jaguar is part of Tata Motors.

How many Jaguar models are there?

We track 17 Jaguar models spanning 1981–2026. The full list is above, ordered by how often each is searched.

What is the Jaguar warranty?

New vehicles come with 4 years / 50,000 miles basic cover and 4 years / 50,000 miles on the powertrain. Terms vary by model year and market — confirm with a dealer.

Is Jaguar reliable?

It depends far more on the model and year than on the badge. Every Jaguar model is ranked by complaint rate here, along with the age at which each starts to fail.

Explore other brands

Brands like Jaguar
BrandModels trackedSearch demand
Ferrari74 models1,162,090/mo searched
Mini8 models1,134,820/mo searched
McLaren19 models1,059,090/mo searched
Rolls-Royce14 models789,250/mo searched
Aston Martin37 models651,550/mo searched
Lucid2 models603,520/mo searched
ROWS 6·SOURCE ForCar catalogue
Model data and search demand from ForCar's catalog of 17 Jaguar models. Recalls, complaints and safety ratings sourced from NHTSA; MPG from EPA fueleconomy.gov. Brand facts compiled by ForCar Editorial. Last updated Sep 2026. Reviewed by , founder of ForCar.