Jaguar rejects coroner’s request to ‘redesign’ its £70k electrical SUV which ‘contributed’ to demise of seven-year-old boy who was crushed to demise between two automobiles

Jaguar has rejected a coroner’s request to reconsider the design of their electric SUV model after the tragic death of a seven-year-old boy.

Alfie Tollett was crushed between two parked cars as he changed his rugby boots in Plymstock, Plymouth in Devon in February 2023.

The driver of a £70,000 I-PACE vehicle had wrongly put the car into ‘drive’ instead of ‘reverse’ as he attempted to park, and drove forward for up to 10 seconds.

Assistant coroner for Devon, Plymouth and Torbay, Deborah Archer, acknowledged ‘a number of errors’ that were made by the driver which ’caused or contributed to the death’.

However, she also suggested that, if the design of the car had been different, the tragedy could have been prevented.

Jaguar I-PACEs do not have a conventional gear stick, but instead there are three buttons drivers can select: drive, neutral and reverse.

Ms Archer recommended that Jaguar Land Rover add an ‘intermediary step’ to confirm the direction of travel in electric vehicles that use such buttons.

Writing to the CEO of the British car manufacturer, she said there was a risk more deaths could occur ‘unless action is taken’.

But, in response, the high-end car manufacturer has rejected her assertions and said that the model meets ‘all legal requirements for vehicle safety’ so ‘no changes are required’.

They said: ‘The Jaguar I-Pace has achieved the highest safety rating of five stars from the European New Car Assessment Programme.’

At his inquest last year, it was heard Alfie and his family had been at Plymstock Albion Oaks Rugby Football club to watch his older brother play in a training match.

While changing his boots behind the family car, he became trapped between it and a parked van, after an electric car hit into it.

The unnamed driver of the electric SUV ‘used his left hand to select the reverse button to straighten the vehicle up’, but did not check the button to see if he had correctly selected it and instead ‘relied on feel’.

As a result, he mistakenly set the car to drive forwards.

He failed to notice that the reversing warning alarm had not engaged and collided with van and continued to accelerate pushing the white VW van forwards, trapping Alfie between the van and his dad’s car.

Tragically, Alfie was taken to hospital, where he later died in what was categorised as an ‘accidental’ death.

At the time, a 55-year-old man was arrested by police on suspicion of causing death by careless driving. 

However, there has since been no prosecution of the driver, because he died shortly after the incident, it was heard.

In a Prevention of Future Death report, Ms Archer said there is a ‘risk that future deaths could occur’.

She wrote:  ‘Although it is accepted that this death was accidental, during the inquest the following information came to light as a result of the investigating police officer giving evidence.’

She noted a number of human errors, including wrongly placing the car in drive instead of reverse, pressing the button by touch alone, driving forward for eight to 10 seconds after the accelerator was pressed, and failing to press the brake at any time, among others.

However, she added: ‘These errors occurred as a result of there being no intermediary step within the Jaguar I-PACE being necessary to put the car into drive/reverse other than pressing a button.

‘In the police officer’s opinion, if there had also been a lever or something similar present in the vehicle that needed to be engaged before a button was pressed, this may have alerted [the driver] to the fact that he had pushed the incorrect button on the three button console.’

She continued: ‘In my opinion, action should be taken to prevent future deaths and I believe you have the power to take such action.’ 

Jaguar, however, responded that their I-PACE meets all the legal requirements and ‘no changes are required’.

The firm said: ‘JLR confirms that the Vehicle Certification Agency are an Executive Agency of the Department for Transport and exist to improve vehicle safety and environmental protection by providing robust testing and certification to internationally recognised standards.

‘The gear transmission control unit is assessed for location and use as part of the vehicle certification process.

‘The Jaguar I-Pace is fully certified and meets all applicable United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) regulated requirements.

‘In addition, the Jaguar I-Pace has achieved the highest safety rating of 5 stars from the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP).’

The business said the gear transmission unit is ‘clearly labelled’ and other car manufacturers use a ‘similar type of gear selector’ including Ford, Tesla, Renault.

They added: ‘We thank the Coroner for the time taken to prepare the Notice and for permitting JLR to review the information provided.

‘Upon review of all information and evidence in the case, including the data extracted from the Vehicle and independent vehicle safety testing, it is clear that the current design of the Jaguar I-Pace gear transmission control unity and alert strategy meet all legal requirements for vehicle safety and that no charges are required.’  

Since its release six years ago, the I-PACE has been implicated in a number of safety incidents besides Alfie’s death, including claims of unexpected acceleration. 

The company has maintained that each incident was caused by driver error.

Last year, Jaguar announced it was killing the model off – even though it intends to become an all-electric car maker this year.

The firm says this is because it has a new platform on which to build its electric cars.