Jaguar backs new London premium electric chauffeur service

A new all-electric premium chauffeur service is being trialled in London, backed by Jaguar Land Rover’s venture capital and mobility services arm InMotion.

The Havn (pronounced haven) service is using a fleet of more than 10 Jaguar I-Pace electric cars. If the Havn trial service is successful, there will be a full roll-out of the service next year.

Havn is aimed at inner city users looking for a sustainable, customer-focused luxury experience for travelling to airports, meetigs or dinners. Customers can specify preferences in the Havn app, including music preference, temperature, and chauffeur interaction.

Hospitality drivers will wait an additional 30 minutes for journeys, extended to an hour for airport trips, so minor delays will not impact their booking. This unique feature was incorporated to ensure the experience of the customer remains at the very core of Havn’s business model.

The fleet will use the premium SE spec Jaguar I-Pace,and all cars are finished in gunmetal grey metallic with black wheels. Additional options include a fixed panoramic roof, privacy glass, heated rear seats and four-zone climate control. With every Havn booking users also have use of an iPad and wifi for the duration of our journey.

Joseph Seal-Driver, managing director for Havn, said: “Havn is passionate about offering Londoners a premium, sustainable and personalised experience, all tailored through our intuitive app. We’re here to disrupt the industry in the same way Soho House has done to private members clubs. We’ve already signed up a number of corporate clients to the beta, who want a quality service but importantly an electric one.”

“For our customers it’s crucial that we offer complete simple and transparent pricing with all Havn rides having no hidden charges or surge pricing. Journeys from Heathrow start from £60 and a journey from Old Street to Canary Wharf is around £32 depending on traffic and time of travel.”

All Havn drivers are full-time employees of the company who will undertake a rigorous training programme, arming them with the skills they will need to deliver Havn’s customer-focused experience. By employing experienced chauffeurs instead of drivers, uncommon within the ride hailing space, Havn can ensure a high level of quality hospitality

“Chauffeuring is very important to JLR,” said Havn head of business development Nick Ozy de Zegwaart. “This is of strategic importance with the new electric XJ on the horizon. We’re employing the chauffeurs to have a level of consistency, and we’re trying to bring in some of the etiquette that might have been lost in the race to the bottom with some of the other apps.”

He added that the language used in marketing and the style of the operation was designed to be different. “We have smart casual drivers, because people who use a service like that are more casual themselves these days.” Havn branding will have discreet “powered by Jaguar Land Rover” sub-branding, and plug-in hybrids such as the Range Rover P400e could also be added to the fleet in future.