Jaguar has finally unveiled its radical new concept car after a campaign launch that provoked widespread ridicule and fury.
The electric vehicle, called Type 00, is expected to cost more than £100,000 and will be manufactured in the UK. The futuristic car embodies the heritage brand’s “bold and imaginative reinvention” as it aims to attract younger, wealthier and more diverse drivers.
But as Jaguar prepares to lose 85 percent of its existing customers and braces for another social media storm, many are left questioning whether the controversial rebrand will prove to be an utter car crash – or a stroke of genius.
‘Unhinged’ rebrand
The classic car company launched its “completely transformed Jaguar brand” in November, unveiling a reimagined logo to mark the beginning of “a new era” for the manufacturer.
To give customers a taste of their plans for the company, Jaguar released an advert that immediately sparked outrage online. The 30-second clip showed a diverse array of models march through a pink wasteland in flamboyant costumes while slogans like “live vivid” and “delete ordinary” flash across the screen.
If the bold signs of a break with the past wasn’t enough to infuriate traditional customers, the complete absence of cars was. Tesla boss Elon Musk was quick to criticise Jaguar’s vision of the future, responding to the video by tweeting: “Do you sell cars?”
Far-right politician Nigel Farage joined the backlash, adding: “I predict Jaguar will now go bust. And you know what? They deserve to.”
Horrified consumers flooded social media with complaints that the “woke” rebrand was “unhinged” and “throwing away heritage”, while industry specialists criticised the advert too.
Art director Joseph Alessio predicted that “this will be taught in schools as how not to do a rebrand,” and another designer warned that the campaign would “go down in history as one of the most destructive marketing moves ever attempted.”
‘Exuberant Modernism’ or ‘Woke on Wheels’?
Jaguar’s Type 00 car now looks set to be as divisive as the advert that teased its arrival the month before.
Speaking at a launch event in Miami on Monday, Gerry McGovern, Jaguar’s chief creative officer, stressed: “Some may love it now, some may love it later and some may never love it. That’s what fearless creativity does.”
The car, which is available in ‘Miami pink’ and ‘London blue’, features an oval steering wheel, large alloy wheels, and a rear-view camera on each side instead of a rear windscreen. Hailed as “Exuberant Modernism”, the car is intended to “inspire future Jaguars” according to the company.
But the model’s distinctive shape and unique colour palette led some to compare it with Lady Penelope’s FAB 1 car in Thunderbirds, and others to suggest it should be renamed the Pink Panther.
Some have criticised what they see as a clumsy attempt to appeal to modern female drivers by rehashing old gender stereotypes. A female industry executive told The Times: “They, Jaguar, want me, a woman, to be one of their customers. So they are offering me a pink car? What is this? Barbie goes to Palm Beach?”
Survival strategy in a changing world
Despite the barrage of abuse levelled at its new car, Jaguar’s bosses remain optimistic about the brand’s bold new future.
Originally celebrated as the epitome of power and luxury in motoring, Jaguar had become safe, predictable, and even old-fashioned. As it lost its edge, Jaguar lost customers too and the company’s profits tumbled.
Sales fell from 180,000 in 2018 to less than 67,000 in 2023, and company bosses realised that only a complete overhaul could save the struggling brand.
Rawdon Glover told the Sunday Times: “The average age of the Jaguar client is quite old and getting older. We’ve got to access a completely different audience. That audience isn’t centred around people of the demographic of Mr Farage.”
To try and maintain its relevance among younger, more environmentally conscious drivers, Jaguar will reposition itself as an entirely electric car manufacturer in 2026. As managers within the company warn that there is no fallback option if this move to electric fails, Jaguar’s creative team was instructed to be be fearless in rewriting the rules if it wants to survive.
To this end, executives explain that Jaguar’s controversial new look is much less a woke disaster, as a genius strategy to capture the world’s attention and disrupt the car industry.
Glover stressed: “People love us for our history and our heritage, but that has not led to huge commercial success. This is Jaguar being bold, doing things differently.”
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