Buying signals are clues from a shopper’s online behavior that suggest they’re more likely to actually buy a car. Dealers can use that to focus on the people who are ready to purchase.
A teaser campaign is a marketing stunt meant to get people excited before the real reveal. If it feels misleading or out of touch, it can cause backlash.
Term
PR
PR (public relations) is how a company manages its public image and relationships with the media and influencers. The segment frames PR experts discussing whether the campaign’s messaging was effective or just controversial.
A rebrand is when a company changes its brand identity—often including visual design, messaging, and overall positioning. In automotive, rebrands can affect how the public perceives the brand’s values, target customers, and even future product direction.
JLR stands for Jaguar Land Rover, the parent company behind Jaguar and Land Rover. The segment references JLR’s design and engineering center, tying the rebrand story to the company’s internal planning and communications.
Boutique showrooms are smaller, brand-controlled retail spaces—often in major cities—rather than relying on a broad dealer franchise network. The segment suggests Jaguar planned these in metropolitan capitals to control the customer experience.
Type 00 is a Jaguar concept car, meaning it’s a show car meant to preview ideas. It’s not typically something you’d buy like a regular production vehicle. The podcast mentions it because it was unveiled as part of a heritage-themed presentation.
“Culture wars” is a term for big public arguments about social and political topics. When car brands use those topics in ads, some people love it and others push back.
Calling it a “manifesto” means the video was trying to say what the brand stands for and where it wants to be headed. It wasn’t just selling a car—it was trying to change how people see Jaguar.
“Woke” is a label used in political and cultural debates, often meaning messaging perceived as strongly aligned with social-justice themes. The segment discusses how Jaguar’s video was branded this way, which influenced how audiences interpreted the campaign.
A marketing backlash happens when a campaign triggers negative reactions—often through criticism, parody, or political pushback. The segment suggests Jaguar’s messaging arrived during a period when “woke” messaging was being actively resisted, which reduced the campaign’s effectiveness.
“Timing was out” refers to launching a message when public sentiment is unfavorable. The speakers suggest Jaguar’s campaign would have been received differently if it had been released earlier, before backlash intensified.
“Control the narrative” is PR language meaning a company tries to shape how the public interprets events. In automotive rebrands, this often involves managing press coverage, messaging, and timing to avoid backlash.
“Radio silence” refers to a lack of public communication during an unfolding situation. In automotive PR terms, it can indicate internal uncertainty, legal/HR constraints, or a deliberate attempt to avoid further controversy.
Porsche is a sports-car brand. They’re bringing up Porsche because even Porsche has had problems with its electric plans and how much the cars are worth later.
A concept car is like a “teaser” vehicle a company shows to hint at what it might build next. It can be very close to a real car, or it can just be a statement of what the brand wants to do.
This phrase suggests that any attention—positive or negative—can still benefit a brand by keeping it in the public conversation. In automotive launches, controversy can sometimes increase awareness even if it doesn’t immediately improve sentiment.
“EV plans” refers to an automaker’s roadmap for launching battery-electric vehicles, including timelines, model commitments, and investment levels. The segment notes that some brands rolled back those plans, implying uncertainty about EV demand—especially in the luxury segment.
The Jaguar E-Type is a legendary old Jaguar sports car. The speaker brings it up to show that Jaguar has changed things dramatically before, and fans reacted then too.
The Jaguar XJS is an older Jaguar model that many enthusiasts associate with classic, luxury cruising. The speaker is basically saying that today’s Jaguar owners are judged differently—especially because of social media.
“Mid-market” means cars meant for a bigger group of buyers, not just a small luxury niche. The speaker is saying Jaguar tried to sell into that broader premium space.
A “heritage fleet” here means a curated set of classic Jaguar cars used for evaluation and development. It’s a strategy to connect future product decisions to the brand’s historical driving experience and design principles.
Internal combustion engines (ICE) generate power by burning fuel (like gasoline or diesel) inside the engine. The speaker contrasts ICE with EVs to explain why some enthusiasts feel uneasy about Jaguar’s direction.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are cars powered primarily by electric motors and rechargeable batteries. The segment frames EV adoption as a major cultural and market shift that influences how luxury brands like Jaguar are received.
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Welcome back to the Car Dealer Podcast.
I'm James Bagger, the editor-in-chief of Car Dealer Magazine,
and in this special series, I'm going to be investigating one of the most controversial
relaunches the car industry has ever seen.
Jaguar unveiled a whole new direction in November 2024,
and it sent the internet and the industry into a tailspin.
It faced accusations it had gone woke after releasing a controversial teaser campaign
that didn't even show a car, but was all this planned?
Did Jaguar set out to cause a stir and go viral?
Or was the shock and awe of the campaign a happy accident for the marketing department?
During this series, I'm going to be chatting to some of the journalists who were at that crazy launch.
At that point, I had 26 years in this industry, and nothing prepared me for the moment that
in this sort of darkened studio in the design area at Gayden, the doors came back,
and there was this huge pink car.
New and used Jaguar dealers about what their customers thought of it all.
You know, you've got to kind of hand it to the marketing department.
Whether they did that on purpose or not, it went viral.
To marketing and PR experts about whether the campaign really was woke or marketing genius.
It just didn't feel real. The advertising, you really couldn't see what the vehicle was.
It felt more like an advert for a McNamie screen than it did for a car.
And I'll be talking to professors and enthusiasts about a brand that's loved across the world,
which has now taken a very different direction.
I'll also be hearing from Jaguar themselves about what it was like
being in the eye of the storm when all this kicks off.
This is the story of Jaguar's rebrand, mistake or genius.
Episode one, The Journalist's View
I've been following the Jaguar story since that rather strange event
back in November 2024. It was almost this day and a selection of the UK's
motor and media had been brought together at JLR's Gayden Design and Engineering Centre
in Warwickshire. The editors of some of the UK's largest motor and magazines were there,
National Newspaper Correspondents and well, me.
Security was tight with airport style scanners and our phones were removed by the security
team and locked in boxes. We were escorted past decorative ponds and huge plate glass fronted
offices to the main building in Gayden where the PR team was waiting. No one knew what to expect,
but there was certainly an air of excitement. Over coffee and pastries I chatted to my colleagues.
We'd all been following Jaguar's story up until now and we were eager to see what would come next.
In the weeks before the event, Cardiola had been reporting about JLR's colour of Jaguar
franchises and its decision to stop selling cars for more than a year. Jaguar MD Rodin Glover had
told us the brand was in for what he was calling a messy year, with the current model range going
off sale and a long wait for anything new. Off the record, I'd been contacted by Jaguar dealers
who'd been given their notice and several weren't best pleased. Many of them had spent millions
building huge dual-art showrooms. Some only recently completed these huge projects when Jaguar
released its news. These were massive sites designed with a central entrance and spaces for both the
Jaguar and Land Rover brands on both sides of vast dealerships. To here they were now getting the
bullet, came as a surprise. Jaguar was going from around 80 dealers to less than 20 and it was
planning on setting up its own boutique showrooms in metropolitan capitals around the world.
It was against this backdrop that Jaguar was relaunching but none of the journalists in that
room knew what was to come next. The Jaguar relaunch was one of the most interesting and I have to
say bizarre events I've attended in 30 years of covering the motor industry. That's 30 years covering
it as a motoring editor and a good 10 years before that. Ray Massey is the Motoring Editor for the
Daily Mail. His columns are read by millions of people every week and he's been a journalist for
more than 40 years. There'll be more from him in a moment. We both sat through the bizarre launch
led by the then Chief Creative Officer Jerry McGovern. He was a man behind some of the most
iconic and successful Land Rovers ever built and in the eyes of JLR could do no wrong. First we
were shown that video. It featured models in bright pink, red and yellow outfits, told us that Jaguar
would be breaking moulds and deleting the ordinary. Complete with an electric soundtrack,
I looked around the room after they played it and could see a few open mouths. If there was a clue
as to how this would go down with the general public, I was looking at it. Jerry went on to show
us how the brand had been reimagined. We were shown the new logo in upper and lower case letters
and then we walked around an art gallery of branding. We were shown the new Leaper logo and
then huddled together so light could bathe us to demonstrate Jaguar's strike through slats.
These would dominate the front and rear of the concept car. Then came the unveiling of that
type 00. We were ushered into a corridor of curtains. The Techno Pop got louder and the
lights brighter. Those marketing slogans were projected onto the wall once more and then the
curtain dropped to reveal a very long and very pink new Jaguar. I was shocked and somewhat bemused
by the whole event. It wasn't so much the car that bewildered me, but the marketing and the
branding. The way the whole event had been orchestrated and the statements that were made
were so out of kilter with what Jaguar had been before, it jarred. If this had been a whole new
brand with a new name, we probably wouldn't be talking about it today, but it wasn't. This
was Jaguar. Following the event, the coverage started to explode. The internet went crazy,
Donald Trump branded it woke and Elon Musk even asked if Jaguar still sold cars.
I wrote that the event was like being in a hallucinogenic sci-fi movie in a piece that was
quoted across the world. The Daily Mail though was one of the biggest critics.
So I come at this as someone who really has more than an affection, quite a love
for Jaguar and everything it stood for. In that context, when I actually went into the room
and to set the scene, this was at Gayden, the design and engineering centre at Gayden,
what then came next was, and they promised it would be, it was jaw dropping. We need to separate
the car from the rebranding. Now Jaguar's engineering, JLR's engineering is fantastic,
I've no doubts whatsoever that the car will drive like a Jaguar, will be great,
hopefully it'll do well, doesn't need to sell that many. But we're talking here about the rebrand
and it was the rebrand that I think has caused them the problem. Over the years, JLR in general,
Jaguar to an extent, they've begun to believe their own hype and I think this is part of it.
I think that the ego has landed. Being in this bubble where the philosophy seems to be we can
do no wrong. It was a little bit like the emperor having no clothes and it wasn't just the words
that were said because they were very Jaguar were very explicit. They've said subsequently,
they've tried to rewrite history, they've said maybe we didn't explain it well enough,
maybe we didn't get the message across, we weren't trying to junk our history.
Frankly, that is Tosh. Anyone who was in that room knows exactly what they said, it was very clear,
there was very little wriggle room. They were very explicit. They wanted to create a stir.
The issue was the tone and they started dabbling in what's generally known as the culture wars.
They decided they wanted a more diverse, younger,
richer, shinier, happy people, customer base. Again, they made clear they really didn't want the old
fashioned middle-class, middle-aged, fuddy-duddy, Jaguar owners and fans probably like me.
They were looking elsewhere. So there's a great feeling of rejection that they've thrown the
baby out with the bathwater. I think what did it was the United Colors of Benetton style video.
Now, it's been described often as an advert. I don't think it was an advert. I would call it a
manifesto. That encapsulated what they were doing, where they were going and it's been described as
genius. They did what they set out to do. They got talked about. Well, they did. If that was their aim,
they achieved it 100%, but not, I don't think, in the way that they planned.
Why do you think that marketing, that video in particular, was branded as woke?
Well, I think because it was maybe two years off the pace.
I think if they'd done that two years before, 18 months before maybe, they'd have got away with
it. And I think it's because in that period, there was a backlash against what people call
woke. You don't need to take my word. You look at the backlash. You look at what people were saying.
You look at the parodies. I think it's always a test when people are making fun of something.
The issue was all the floaty, metrosexual, androgynous characters,
which were floating around and no car. The timing was out and there was pushback against this. USA is
one of Jaguar's biggest markets, if not biggest market. There's Elon Musk having a crack. Now,
you could say, well, he wouldn't, because he's got a commercial interest in that.
But you've got Trump in the White House. The American people, rightly or wrongly, have voted
for Donald Trump. There was a sea change there. And that's right. I mean, Trump came out and
called it woke. It had that feel, but it wasn't that in itself. It was that combined with a sense
that they were junking their heritage. Now, they've said subsequently, they're not. If Jaguar
andro, if Jaguar had really been happy with how things went, then what subsequently happened,
I doubt, would have happened. Sometimes car companies, they operate in their own little bubble.
They start to believe their own propaganda. There's a phrase which you may be familiar with.
You get it within PR companies and PR departments about wanting to control the narrative.
Like King Canute, they think they can hold back the sea. Well, the thing about this whole campaign
or this whole presentation, this manifesto, is that they thought they were starting a little
fire, which they could control. And that fire, like a bushfire, leapt and caused a major bushfire
that they couldn't control. And I think that started to rattle cages and worry people
over with the parent company in India, Tata. Do you think this is why we saw changes
at the company? Why we saw the CEO change? Jerry McGovern has since left. Do you think
that's all connected? You may say that. I couldn't possibly comment. However, it is fascinating,
the sequence of events. So if we just go through the sequence factually, we saw the car,
the car's being driven. It will be like a Jaguar. It'll be fantastic. I've no doubts about that.
But there were clearly misgivings. The chief executive officially, according to what we've
been told, retired, and that was all planned. That's what we were told. New CEO comes in,
P.B. Ballergy. P.B. Ballergy was the finance director for Tata. So he's the money man.
Within two weeks of his arrival, a number of things happened. Jerry McGovern, creative director,
like Elvis, left the building. Now the circumstances of his departure are interesting. There were
reports coming out of a very respectable and respected magazine, AutoCar, in India, which is
known to be very close to the Tata family, suggested that he was helped in his departure.
There was then radio silence, something you never get from JLR. Not a peep for a week, 10 days.
Then suddenly there's a statement goes out which says, contrary to speculation, he hasn't
left the company. He's still there. Okay, take that at face value. A bit odd, but there we go.
Then we get finally a statement saying he is leaving and he's leaving to
join or to set up his own consultancy. All very odd, all very weird. What then happened?
Under the new CEO, suddenly Jaguar rediscovered its heritage. We have all these shots of the new
car, the new prototype car lined up with E-types and all sorts of vehicles from the heritage.
Now that is a U-turn in anybody's book, so clearly somebody up high, up on high,
decided that this genius strategy, this genius rebrand wasn't working and they've basically been
rowing back on that. The coverage in the Daily Mail since that relaunch, I mean there's people
in the commentating that it was quite vicious. The campaign was branded as woke,
there was a number of stories about some of the people behind that relaunch. What was it that
fueled that? I mean why did the Daily Mail cover that sort of stuff? Well I have to say, I mean I
stand by every word I wrote. I'm quite happy with all of that. You'd have to ask Jaguar,
Land Rover what they felt about it. What about the Daily Mail readers? Why do you think they got
so angry about that relaunch? I don't think they did particularly. I think any anger,
you'd need to look on social media because that's where the anger was coming from. People who like
me had a love for Jaguar still do, still have great affection for the brand, weren't happy and
as I say it wasn't just what the words that were being used, it was the tone of it. Do you think
this is a huge gamble for Jag? Oh yeah, no they bet the house on it. No absolutely and again that's
something I wrote from the beginning. You know cats have nine lives. I'm not sure what number
we're up to with Jaguar at the moment. I'm not sure I'd like to guess how many lives Jaguar has
used up either. Ray was certainly a critical voice of that rebrand but there were plenty of other
motoring journalists who were also at the event. Steve Fowler is one of the most experienced in the
UK. He has edited also car, also express on what car and he's now the electric car editor for the
Independent. He's covered pretty much every JLR launch for decades but even he was surprised
by what Jaguar unveiled. When you and I were at the press event for the Jaguar relaunch
when you came away from that what were your initial thoughts? If I was to
put it into one word I would say bold and brave and part of me at the time was thinking
foolish as well but for Jaguar what else could they do? I mean it was a failing business so
something had to be done. You've been covering the industry for quite some time. Was it one of the
most unusual or strangest events you've ever been to? Yeah it was certainly strange because we
weren't expecting to see a very large long bright pink car so that's what made me say it was it was
bold and with all the rhetoric around it as well. It's what I would describe as JLR's Bobby Ewing
moment when people if they remember the old Dallas program and Bobby Ewing disappeared from the show
then he came back in a shower scene. It's always Jaguar suddenly come back as something completely
different. Can people accept Jaguar being a brand that's going to battle Bentley? I'm not sure that
they're quite ready for that jump yet from being sort of premium to being luxury and I think Jaguar
is in a difficult place. There's an awful lot of focus on it. There's an awful lot of focus around
the British media. There's some degree of ownership amongst the British people of the
British media for Jaguar so you know meddle with it at your peril. Were you surprised at the backlash
at the relaunch? Yeah I think that comes down to that feeling of ownership you know we all feel
that we own a bit of a bit of Jaguar as a British institution isn't it? I think I was surprised at
the vitriol and you know maybe that's the world that we live in at the moment. You know some of
us are brought up if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all that's not the job of
a journalist but you know I think that the spiteful nature of some of the content and the comments
that I saw was somewhat surprising and probably not deserved. There was a huge amount of noise
wasn't there after that relaunch across social media. Can you remember anything that really
stood out? Was there anything on social media that you thought that's really surprising? I really
started getting personal with some of the people involved at JLR and some of the press were I think
overstepped the mark. I mean it's a car it's a brand there's no need to get personal about the
people involved whether that's the actors in the famous adverts or the people actually involved
at JLR and I think when you start getting personal about that it does overstep the mark and I think
that was unnecessary. Why do you think people got so passionate about this relaunch? I think it is
because it is a a British brand that we've known and loved for years and it was suddenly what we
knew was taken away from us and we were presented with something that was just completely different
you know it's a little bit like Coca-Cola saying we're now going to make tea it just doesn't seem
right. You know Coca-Cola does what Coca-Cola does it doesn't make tea so why would Jaguar that
brand that's always been aspirational but attainable suddenly become the sort of brand
that most of us or they want us to dream about but we're never actually going to be able to buy
that's not what Jaguar is. Do you think this new plan is going to work? I think it's going to be
really difficult. I think if you there's there's two elements I would look at the fact that they
are going for the luxury market which is really really tough you know and I've been in the car
you know I've seen the car and it has the the attributes to succeed as a car but that brand
the Jaguar brand doesn't have the the best reputation for reliability in the past for
build quality in the past. Having that sort of fire break over a few years is the best chance
they have of succeeding as a luxury brand but also now it's it's it just feels as though it's
being dragged on a little bit now. Rolls Royce have rode back on their plans to be all electric by
2030 Bentley have pushed back theirs to 2035 Porsche have had problems with the with the
electric Taycan and the residual values is the timing wrong for Jaguar and an electric car?
Yeah I often say I think the car industry went too fast too soon on electrification
and and we were part of that in the in the media we got very excited about it and many of the cars
they're really good cars but we have to accept that the consumer wasn't quite ready for it
and I think if you look at what's happening as you quite rightly said with with Bentley with
Porsche and other brands they are slightly rowing back from their electrification plans so still
going all out on electrification right now you know that's again a bold move. What did you think
of the car the Type 00 when you first saw it? I took a double take at a big gulp because you know
very large very pink very striking when you learn to live with these cars a little bit more
then you start to look at some of the design details and you know we have to remember it was
a concept car and you know sometimes concept cars come out and the production car is pretty
much spot on you wonder why they bothered calling it a concept in the year in the first place.
Other times and I think this applies to Jaguar it is a case of it's a statement of intent
rather than a pure preview of the car that's going to going to arrive. Do you think people buy it?
Well as I say I think the car itself having ridden in the car so far I think it feels really good
as a car absolutely delivers I think there will be a number of people who will buy it because
they'd like to be the the first early adopters in something new. Do you think the relaunch and the
controversy that followed it was the plan all along? There were a number of plans I know from
from insiders there were a number of plans put forward and this was as I understand it the
most out there plan and the plan that a lot of people thought that this is never going to go
through but it did so you know I guess the phrase be bold or go home was the sort of mantra through
JLR. They got a lot of free publicity off the back of of that launch. Do you think
the whole thing was marketing genius? If you if you come from the school of there's no such thing
as bad publicity then absolutely it was marketing genius you know Jaguar dominated the headlines
for what seemed like weeks just leading up to Christmas following the launch in Miami so everybody
knew Jaguar was changing so yeah I think marketing genius the people who were behind it would probably
claim it was yes marketing genius or mad mistake it will be something that's long debated when the
automotive history books on this period of Jaguar are written with the type 00 Jaguar is betting the
house on their being demand for an electric luxury car and they'll be entering the market at a time
many other brands have rolled back their EV plans as Steve pointed out Rolls Royce and Bentley
have quickly realized there's not a huge market for these luxury EVs TV presenter Ginny Buckley
is also the editor-in-chief of the car advice site electrifying.com like Ray Steven myself
she was also at that launch back in 2024 and I asked her to sum up that event. Extraordinary
in a word is the I think the only word you can apply to what Jaguar
have done over the last 18 months and I guess if I was to have a second word I'd say bloody brave
when they unveiled the the new brand when they unveiled that new car what was your initial reaction
I mean yeah I was there it was autumn late autumn probably November 2024 and you know
knew we were going to go and see something that would be quite special and you know probably a
thought provoking but honestly at that point I had 26 years in this industry and nothing prepared me
for the moment that in this sort of darkened you know studio in the design area at Gaydon
the doors came back and there was this huge pink car I mean literally nothing prepared me for that
moment and and I haven't seen anything that was quite as impactful ever and it did the job it
got us all talking it was it was a bizarre day wasn't it they they sort of walked us around all
these different elements of the launch they showed us the new the new marks the new logos they
huddled us all together for the to be bathed in light by the the strike through was that the
strangest thing you've ever done on a car? I mean I'm trying to cast my mind back and I think it
probably was it was very theatrical there was a real sort of setup of this is what you know
what you can experience and we also had um you know there were a lot of talks first I remember
that the sort of the then um of course design director Jeremy Govan um like just telling us
about what to expect and and talking to us about almost what we should think about it so it was
quite extraordinary really and then we will walk through all those different areas of the of the
rebrand and on goodness me if you thought that that capping up the G and the U in Jaguar was
controversial I mean the site of a of a big pink car nothing was quite as controversial of that
they've launched a luxury electric car at a time when the electric luxury market has has dropped
drastically is there such a thing as a luxury electric market now? I guess it depends on where
you are in the world so I think there is in certain parts the world for sure um you know and I think
that's what they're looking at isn't it you know and when I spoke to Rodin Glover around that time
he said look they're only expecting a sort of maybe 10 percent of the current Jaguar owners
to be even potential customers in the future so they're building a whole new customer base
and I think in in certain markets something like this that is as extraordinary as it is
and remember we're not talking about the UK here that's just a tiny part of the picture we're talking
about Shanghai we're talking about Miami we're talking about Los Angeles we're talking about
Dubai we're talking about people that want a status symbol it's a very expensive car though
isn't it I mean it's going to be over a hundred thousand pounds do you think people will actually
buy it? Gosh I get my crystal ball out James I mean I mean Jaguar are hoping people will buy it
it's the big question that we don't know isn't it we just have got no idea I mean like I say having
having seen it um I do think it's a really impressive vehicle what what do you think Jaguar
will do next? Well they're on a very slow road to getting it out aren't they so they're drip
feeding us all um we're going to see the car I think mid mid year and then I mean there's talk
of more models we haven't seen anything that or had any hint of what's coming next you know nobody's
been up to look at anything I think their focus is very much on getting this one to market trying
to keep that buzz around it um but yeah I mean it listen let's not sugarcoat this this is may
call break time for Jaguar you know this car has got to succeed do you do you think this is one of
the biggest gambles you've ever seen in the automotive industry? I think this is the most
ambitious and bold thing that I've ever seen um and they are at great pains when you talk to them
and when you drive the car to talk about how for them it's they've they've literally applied
forensic detail to what is a core Jaguar what does a Jaguar feel like so that whilst it might look
very ambitious at its heart they're still keeping what is true to them. Do you think Jaguar will
still be here in 10 years time? I think they'll still be here I just don't know who will own them
that I think is the interesting thing for me I think as a brand and as a mark they're just
so important to not just the automotive world but to the culture of the UK and I can't see a world
and I wouldn't like to see a world without Jaguar in it but I think you know who owns them
what they're doing I think there are some interesting questions to ask around that.
The very thought of Jaguar disappearing is enough to stir the internet into a frenzy once again
and no one wants to do that. If you look back at the anger that was vented online when Jaguar's
marketing campaign came out there was a huge amount of frustration at those changes.
Whether it was woke or not it was certainly divisive and it stirred up a culture war. But
what did Jaguar's fans think of it? If you read some of the comments online you'd think they were
furious but was that what they really thought? Wayne Scott is the editor-in-chief of Jaguar
Enthusiast magazine, the voice of the Jaguar Enthusiast Club and a huge Jaguar fan.
My 2024 F-Pace knew and love it to bits. It replaced Land Rover Discovery 3 which replaced
another Land Rover Discovery 3 so I'm quite JLR in the blood I think really and that comes from a
bit of a family history around the Jaguar brand. With your close rich history with the brand what
did Jaguar owners think of that relapse when it happened? It's interesting so for my personal
point of view I saw the car before most other people. I was brought down to Gaiden to have a
preview in the end of October before we saw the new branding and then the car some weeks later.
And when I saw the car I knew that there would be some who didn't get it and I think it I instantly
knew it would be quite a shocking design but absolutely nothing prepared me for the
controversy the vitriol in some cases that was to result when they finally went public.
And that's because I think from my point of view I'd seen the car I'd seen the branding I was
still processing that but I hadn't read into some of the marketing messages and some of the video
in particular seemed to upset most people what others had read into it and I think that was the
fundamental difference so when it all came out I think we were all quite surprised about the
reaction to it that was so harsh if you like. Why do you think it created such a such a stark
reaction from from owners you know what why were some people so upset about it? I think we're all
still trying to get to grips with why really to be quite honest with you but I think it's actually
reflection more on society and where we are than actually the car brand and the car itself.
And if you go back in history Jaguar have always changed they've always brought out things that
are big radical steps along the way it happened then again at the end of the 1970s or middle of
the 1970s when E-Type was replaced by XJS which has a lot of parallels with what was seen with
the new car today except one fundamental difference the XJS didn't have the judge and jury of social
media. What do you think owners think of that fact that many of them are going to be left behind by
this? Well I think you have to look at what that actually means for Jaguar and what that actually
means is going back to their roots and there'll be eyebrows being raised all over at what I've just
said there but actually let's look at the evidence so under Ford Jaguar actually took a very different
direction to what they'd had before and that different direction was heading towards the more
mid-market vehicles their products and takes you right back to the X-Type were very much aimed at
taking on the likes of BMW, Audi, Mercedes perhaps the sort of top end of Ford if you like and being
in that sector that was like the middle exec and that over time a sort of evolved into the Jaguar
that people know of the last 20 years if you go back before the Ford era Jaguar were a small volume
relatively high-end luxury vehicle that had a slightly different design and style to most of
the other things you could buy out there and actually it is a return to their heritage in the
sense that they've come out of being a mainstream car manufacturer they can't compete in the same way
on volume as the likes of BMW and others and in particular that that challenge has become more
acute as we head into the EV era because that manufacturers a whole different set of challenges.
As we worked up to this relaunch and in the years going a bit before that you had a Jaguar model
that was built on volume a volume premium brand with SUVs a number of saloons they were moving
into smaller SUVs they had the F-Type they were heading in a very different direction to what
they're heading now do you think that's what has caused this shock? Yeah perhaps and I think you
there was a period in time where I'm a freelance motor in journalists and in the old days I probably
couldn't have afforded a Jaguar now I could and that shows the shift in their customer base and I
can understand why people who expect that they should be able to drive the Jaguar brand around
are now quite annoyed that they can't drive a new Jaguar I share in that annoyance like they have
to say because I love them and I want to be driving a brand new one I'll have to work harder somehow
to afford the new car but I think that's you know there was I saw a lot of narrative around
Jaguar saying that they'd abandon the old customer base I actually didn't that's not the experience
we as Jagu enthusiast magazine and as the Jagu enthusiast club and community felt because
in reality what's happened is Jaguar have engaged with us more than they've ever done in the past.
Wayne are people getting upset on your behalf then? I think they might feel like they are but
they're no need to I think everything will be fine with Jaguar I really do and yeah the cars
are different direction but but society's in a different direction people are different now the
world's different and EVs offer manufacturers huge challenges huge things to get around and get over
in terms of how they differentiate how you how you signpost being a performance or a luxury brand
is going to totally change within the EV space you don't have the engine to use as your selling
point anymore it's it's a totally different ball game but equally it offers opportunities for them
and now with the opportunity of a amazing silent luxury GT car that's got a thousand horsepower
and I did a piece to camera interview 150 mile an hour they're having to shout I mean that in
itself is incredible. What do you think of the Type 00? I talked to you having just come off a
really cool press day down at Gaydon that Jaguar offered us again engaging with the Jaguar community
talking to their existing owners and existing customers through us which is you know is wonderful
to see them doing there was a bit of a criticism I think leveled at them early on in this process
where people felt they'd abandon their heritage the reality of the story though is that the Jaguar
engineers spent a lot of time understanding the heritage and the old cars and so what we were
presented with very recently was a whole series of cars from the heritage fleet and we drove them
all and there were E-Types, XK140's, XJS's and XJ6's series ones and the XJC Coupe and the importance
of that was we were experiencing what Jaguar's development drivers had experienced in the
research that they'd done into finding out where Jaguar needed to be and to understand what the
future strategy would be we kind of had a mini version of that process they'd been through
and then they have this phrase power and reserve that they talk about which is that feeling in a
Jaguar that yeah you could go really fast it's able to do it you've got all the power you need but
frankly you're too comfy you can't be bothered you're too relaxed and children enjoying your day
driving it sounds like you really like the car I loved it I have to admit you know and I like
to be really critical I like to give them a hard time but actually I felt safe in it in the knowledge
that actually some of that stuff that I love about Jaguar is going to carry on even though we
have to put up with electric vehicles if I put it that way I'm a petrolhead I'm you know I love
my internal combustion engines but I understand why they have to be EV was there anything about the
relaunch you didn't like I mean there was you know for example they got rid of the growler logo
there was some I mean they junk some big things didn't they from their past they did the leap
are still very much a part of their branding and I think they're using that more I think really
and I've said this in the articles that I've written about the car the last time I had a
passenger ride in the new Jaguar GT I offered Jaguar some advice and that is to stop leaning on
brand on colors on new direction torque and actually let's just talk about this car because
it can talk for itself well if the Jaguar owners are happy what's all the fuss about I must say
I was rather surprised at Wayne's take on the whole relaunch and I was expecting him to say
quite the opposite while the new logo and marketing might have sparked some of the vitriol
Jaguar also threw another contentious topic into the mix EVs electric cars are as divisive as a new
look and this compounded the anger among those keyboard warriors could the bigger problem here
not be the new look at all but the fact that no one really wants luxury electric cars at the moment
Stuart Gallagher is the editor of car lovers bible evo I'm sure Jaguar would like everyone who said
I'm never buying another Jaguar again actually bought a Jaguar they wouldn't be in this position
you know if you look at the millions and millions of comments it got globally that doesn't reflect
all these so-called Jaguar fans who were you know offended by this well they haven't bought a car
so actually Jaguar don't really care because you're not buying the cars of them
I think the backlash was toxic but we live in an environment don't we live in a world where it's
toxicity is accepted now it's a norm what do you think it was the angered people so much was it
the fact that they had completely changed the brand was it the fact that it was an EV was it
the fact that it was over a hundred thousand pounds what was it do you think that really annoyed
I think a lot of people sadly jumped on the sort of the at the video that they put out
and I hate to use it but the jumping on the woke bandwagon and that's very easy to be fueled by
mainstream media it was at the time as well there was a I think it was oh Jaguar's gone
woke they're gonna go broke you've got people like Elon Musk brilliant for him distraction technique
for his next rocket blowing up or Tesla tanking quality you know everyone had an
everyone had an opinion do you think this new plan will work no because since then
the luxury EV market is absolutely tanked that's that's my and I my worry I'll think about this
this morning when you message to say you know would I mind coming on and can we talk about it
the biggest thing is since Jaguar have done this the premium luxury EV market has absolutely
crashed you know China has we all know what's happened over there in the luxury luxury sector
over in europe in Europe with the established brand Porsche Volkswagen group they've taken a
hammering Audi's taken a hammering Mercedes has taken hammering all at the very top end of this
EV markets it will sell because it is a strike the production car is a striking looking car
the technology on it the way it will drive it's not chasing we've been fortunate that
I've had a passenger ride in it a colleague has driven it as well and it's what they're aiming
for they're not aiming for a hardcore performance car that's going to set lap times it is a very
jaguar car and it will be very very good at it if not the best the best luxury premium
electric car out there I I think it will be I just don't think the market is big enough I
don't think the market is there for it do you think they'll change direction now as a result
I think like every car company they're going to they're going to have to look at what customers
and consumers want to buy there's been a couple of stories about jaguar putting a v8 or a petrol
engine into the type 00 but it doesn't fit it would cost billions to re-engineer it I think
they've already spent five on it they're not going to throw more money at it to reverse
engineer it I think what they possibly will be looking at and what they they will maybe need to
look at is the next models so that platform is going to be a family of cars and maybe the next
cars the SUV will potentially have a hybrid in it they'll have to look at that because that's what
the market wants so they will have to react to the market but I think type 00 will stay fully electric
coming up in episode two of jaguar's rebrand mistake or genius we delve into that divisive
marketing I'll be chatting to John Evans the host of the CMO uncensored podcast I don't
think they're expected quite the extent of the reaction from the general public around the world
Nick Ead a brand and PR guru I think it was trying to look at how they can appeal to a different
demographic look at the people who've got money who obviously can buy something like that and also
appeal yeah to a different generation as well and I'll be hearing from automotive industry expert
professor David Bailey it is very very risky I hope it works but it's not clear to me that it will
I'll also be chatting to jaguar dealers including news car specialist Tim Atkinson the thing that
delighted me most was that in terms of the value against spend it's possibly the best marketing
campaign ever and from a former jaguar franchisee Peter Smive of the swansway group you actually
looked at the demographics of our customers and it isn't unusual to see a box of tissues on the back
shelf in a trail bit join me for episode two on your favorite podcast platform if you've liked
this podcast please leave us a review or rating wherever you're listening to this and head to
the card dealer magazine youtube channel to see our special video that accompanies this series
I'll see you next time thanks for listening goodbye
About this episode
Jaguar’s November 2024 rebrand sparks a global culture-war storm, and the journalists who attended the Gaydon reveal break down why it landed so badly—or so brilliantly. Guests debate whether the pink, no-car teaser and “manifesto” tone felt “woke” and anti-heritage, especially amid EV backlash and a luxury-electric market slowdown. They also connect the controversy to internal shakeups at JLR, including leadership changes and a later heritage “U-turn.” Despite the noise, multiple voices praise the Type 00’s driving feel and Jaguar’s ambition to build a new luxury EV customer base.
In the first of a three part podcast series, Car Dealer looks in detail at the Jaguar Rebrand. Following our video on the relaunch – available now on the Car Dealer Magazine YouTube channel – we have created a three part series of the interviews we conducted. In episode one of Jaguar Rebrand: Mistake or Genius?, we hear The Journalists’ View on the Jaguar relaunch. We hear what it was like being at that big event at JLR’s headquarters in Gaydon back in November 2024 and their reaction to the rebrand and the Type 00. We hear why some elements of the media branded it as ‘woke’, and from journalists who have been behind the wheel of the new car. In this episode we chat to Ray Massey, motoring editor the Daily Mail, Steve Fowler from The Independent, Ginny Buckley from Electrfying.com and Stuart Gallagher, editor of drivers’ bible Evo and Wayne Scott, the editor in chief of Jaguar Enthusiast Magazine. In episode two, The Controversy, we talk to branding experts including Jon Evans, host of the CMO Uncensored Podcast, Nic Ede, a branding and PR guru, as well as car dealers Peter Smyth, a former Jaguar franchise holder, and used Jaguar dealer Tim Atkinson. And in the third and final episode, we’ll hear from Jaguar’s managing director Rawdon Glover himself. In a detailed interview he speaks about what it was like being inside Jaguar when the controversy broke the internet. We cover the personal attacks he and his team faced, why Jaguar needed to be so dramatic and find out whether Gerry McGovern leaving the business will change the direction. Episodes two and three of our Jaguar Relaunch: Mistake or Genius? podcast will be published over Easter.
