Jaguar boss defends rebrand after backlash - as new electric car revealed

3 December 2024, 01:23 | Updated: 3 December 2024, 03:22

Jaguar wants "to be bold and disruptive" with its new electric car and redesign, the luxury vehicle maker's managing director told Sky News.

The British car maker sparked widespread controversy last month when it unveiled its rebrand ahead of becoming a fully electric brand.

Speaking to Sky News business and economics correspondent Gurpreet Narwan, managing director Rawdon Glover said: "We've certainly gathered an awful lot of attention over the last few weeks, but now I think its really important to talk about the vehicle."

The Type 00 has now been unveiled at an event in Miami, Florida, and was described as a "concept with bold forms and exuberant proportions to inspire future Jaguars".

It has been revealed in two colours, Miami Pink and London Blue.

Jaguar said the new electric car uses a dedicated platform which should return up to 478 miles of range while rapid charging will add 200 miles of charge in 15 minutes.

The production-ready version of the Type 00, which will be made in the UK, is set to be revealed late in 2025, and although prices have not yet been confirmed, it is expected to cost more than £100,000.

Mr Glover added to Sky News: "We need to make sure that Jaguar is relevant, is desirable, is future proof for the next 90 years of its history.

"At the moment, the industry is going through huge disruption: technology changes, as we all figure out actually what an electrified world means for our brand.

"At Jaguar, we've looked at that and we think we have to make a really bold step forward. But actually, the step we're going to take is completely in keeping in ethos with the brand."

In November, Jaguar released an advert which featured a series of models, in brightly-coloured clothing, emerging from a lift into an austere landscape. It also featured none of Jaguar's cars.

The carmaker described it as part of a "completely transformed Jaguar brand" and "a new era" which makes "it relevant for a contemporary audience", however, the campaign sparked a backlash online, with Reform leader Nigel Farage saying "I predict Jaguar will now go bust. And you know what? They deserve to," while Tesla boss Elon Musk asked "do you sell cars?"

When asked about the rebrand, Mr Glover told Sky News: "We want to be bold and disruptive... We're clearly in the conversation.

"More people have been talking about Jaguar for the last two weeks than - goodness, for so much longer. Car companies unveil new cars all the time and go completely unnoticed."

When asked if he anticipated the backlash to the advert, the Jaguar director said: "We absolutely don't want to alienate any of our loyal fans.

"Quite the opposite - we want to take as many of our current fans with us on that journey... We need to also appeal to a new audience. That's what we need to do."

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However, while he accepted "people will have opinions about the vehicle" and the rebrand, Mr Glover added: "We absolutely value a reasoned debate - if it gets discriminatory, then I can't condone that."

"We really want the conversation now to move on to, 'here is our design vision, this is actually what the future of Jaguar will look like,' and actually that should be the conversation," he added.

(c) Sky News 2024: Jaguar boss defends rebrand after backlash - as new electric car revealed