Jaguar's Billion Dollar Blunder - How to Destroy a Car Brand

Jaguar is a brand that has been beloved by automotive enthusiasts for decades, thanks mostly to its amazing success in racing during the 1950s, producing Le Mans winners like XK-120C, C-Type, and D-Type. Then they made what Enzo Ferrari called: "the most beautiful car ever made" - the iconic Jaguar E-Type.

Fast forward to today, after changing hands many times over the decades, its current owner is Tata Motors, located in India. They also own Land Rover and built a profitable brand with their iconic cars and the exciting Defender

Sadly, what we have seen this past week is a poorly planned makeover of the infamous Jaguar brand. No more leaping Jaguar, no more roaring engines, no more classy cars with James Bond stying. The trendy, off-based teaser launch didn’t even show a car, it was more than disappointing.

An anonymous insider at JLR confirmed that this rebrand has been just as unpopular inside the company as outside. How much did Jaguar spend on consultants to make this terrible ad? It is too much!

At the reveal of the concept, they showed an unexpected and dramatic physical manifestation of the new Jaguar concept, called the Type 00 (pronounced Type Zero Zero) embodies the Jaguar brand’s creative philosophy of Exuberant Modernism. The lead designer stated that this Jaguar is recapturing its original ethos to ‘Copy Nothing’ with its bold new visual identity. This is the next step for the brand as it showcased a distinctive design vision concept.

The new visionary design is an electric vehicle, featuring a long hood, sweeping roofline, fastback profile and 23-inch alloy wheels for a dramatic silhouette. It is large and bold and gives the impression it wants to be a Rolls Royce Spectre with a similar price.

The new face for Jaguar has flush surfaces, glassless rear tailgate and panoramic roof
with body-harmonized glazing create a sense of sculpture and presented in two colors, dubbed Miami Pink and London Blue. The new Jaguar production cars will be an electric four-door GT with a projected driving range up to 430 miles on a single rapid charge. It will be revealed in late 2025 and built in the UK.

Jaguar also plans to cut ties with most of its dealers to reduce its dealership network as part of its shift to an electric-only lineup by 2026. They say the focus will be on the wealthier areas to target affluent customers with their new premium electric vehicles.

Jaguars new thought leader Santino Pedro Santi stated there are big changes. https://x.com/heyjimburgess/status/1858975042568417616?s=48 Not necessarily good changes just big changes.

Going all EV at just the wrong moment could cost the brand its future.

I know many are having fun with Jaguar's transition from a macho V-8 brand to a feminine EV brand. But in truth, it is a leading indicator of the entire industry's neutering to the same, green battery-powered cars. Almost every brand has seen the light and reverted back to a combination of gasoline or hybrid engines, but still offering electric vehicles. All at the same time Jaguar is saying we’re going 100% all EV. Did they not listen to the news or talk to any consumers?

Another historic British brand could bite the dust. However, given the direction Britain has gone as a whole the last couple years, this shouldn't surprise anyone. Keep in mind that if you lived there and spoke against this ad campaign on social media, you might end up in jail for 20 years.

What the brand did earn is big buzz, Jaguar’s fashion-show re-brand Hail Mary, got them about $1 billion in earned media. Kudos to whoever put that part of it together. Now they need a new customer base that want to spend over $100,000.

Jaguar only sold 66,000 vehicles in global sales in 2023, I think the only way Jaguar can survive is with a shared platform with Land Rover. That would give them two vehicles for the cost of one, an SUV and a sedan. They really can’t afford anything more than that, not if they want to provide some kind of return on their investment.

Jaguar spent millions on a rebrand that erased over 100 years of heritage. In reply, even Elon Musk is publicly mocking them.

This is the horrifying bottom line - The Jaguar boss says he doesn’t want the old customers. They want to create a new customer base.

#jaguar has faced significant backlash online for their rebrand, with many continuing to voice their opinions on the company's social pages.

➡️ Looking for more car review? https://youtube.com/@car-smarts

➡️ Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/laurenfix

➡️ Listen to the Total Car Score Podcast: https://www.revolverpodcasts.com/shows/total-car-score/

➡️ Social media ALL @laurenfix

➡️ Check out our website for ALL automotive news and the FREE NEWSLETTER: https://www.CarCoachReports.com

➡️ Get the Book: Lauren Fix's Guide to Loving Your Car: https://amzn.to/3ifDi3j

©Automotive Aspects, Inc., 2024. All Rights Reserved.
#news #car