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If you look in the corner of the room you might notice a particularly large elephant that requires some discussion. It’s a potentially dangerous topic, but at the inevitable risk of upsetting some people it’s one that needs to be addressed. Luckily for us, this particular topic has been talked about A LOT recently so we’re unlikely to say anything contentious. And in case you haven’t already guessed, yes we are going to talk about Jaguar.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock you’ve probably seen reference to the current Jaguar situation on social media or in the news. That multi-coloured advert has certainly garnered some attention, as has the concept Jaguar Type 00 that was unveiled at the beginning of December.

For better or worse, we’re going to avoid all that “woke: is it or isn’t it?” background noise and concentrate on what is actually going on at Jaguar. And apologies in advance but this is going to take a little bit of explaining. All the way back in 1922, William Lyons formed the Swallow Sidecar Company alongside fellow motorbike enthusiast, William Walmsley. In 1934, Walmsley decided he no longer wished to be involved in building motorcycle sidecars so William Lyons formed SS Cars, selling shares in the new company to raise the necessary capital to buy out his former business partner.

The following year “Jaguar” first appeared as a model name on an SS sports saloon before being formally adopted as the company name in 1945. That was the moment Jaguar Cars Ltd was born, and the rest is history.

And what a history it has been.

A succession of elegant sports cars and luxury saloons followed, sprinkled with a significant number of racing successes including five Le Mans victories in the 1950s alone. And let’s be honest, even after 60 years you can’t mention Jaguar with evoking the legendary E-Type, a car that Enzo Ferrari himself may or not have described as “the most beautiful car ever made”.

And therein lies Jaguar’s problem.

People admire Jaguar as a brand, and it deservedly enjoys huge respect for the distinguished history the name invokes. Unfortunately, that deep love for the big cat hasn’t necessarily translated into sales. Everyone wants to see Jaguar succeed, but too few of us have been prepared to put our money where our hearts are.

Just a cursory examination of the numbers reveals the extent of the issue.

In 2023, Jaguar’s global sales totalled just under 65,000 cars. To put that into some sort of context, compare the numbers with those of Jaguar’s closest rivals: Audi shifted 1.8 million cars in the same timeframe, almost doubling Jaguar’s global sales in the UK alone; Mercedes just about managed to break the 2 million mark, with just its high-end, most-expensive models outselling Jaguar’s total figures five-times over; and BMW topped the lot with 2.2 million cars sold, and that’s before you even start counting the MINI and Rolls Royce figures.

In short, Jaguar has been getting thoroughly trounced by the competition. Looking at the JLR Group as a whole, it seems that the only thing keeping the Jaguar bit afloat has been the success of the Land Rover and Range Rover models that make up 67% of its global sales.

The reasons for falling behind its rivals may be many and complex – let’s not even get started on the industrial strife that was British Leyland in the 1970s – but pinning the blame won’t alter Jaguar’s situation one iota.

The fact remains, and even Jaguar MD, Rawdon Glover has been completely up front about this, that Jaguar is too small to compete in the mass-production premium market. No matter how good some of its products might have been, Jaguar has simply not been able to keep up with the economies of scale that the likes of Audi, Mercedes, and BMW can draw on.

Obviously a rethink was in order. And as there isn’t much point in building cars that very few people are choosing, the decision to cease production and sales of new cars while a rebrand is under way does make perfect sense.

Although it’s worth noting, you can still lease yourself a brand-new Jaguar, it just means your options will become increasingly limited as stock levels of each model decrease.

Given the name recognition Jaguar enjoys it really is a rebrand too.

While the Jaguar name could easily have ceased to exist entirely, senior executives from Jaguar owner Tata clearly understand the value of a household name. Instead, the decision was made to transform Jaguar into a low-volume, upmarket brand that will now be competing with the likes of Bentley and Porsche. Oh, and the “new” Jaguar will also be an all-electric brand too.

Jaguar Type 00 - the start of the all-electric Jaguar brand

Which brings us neatly on to the recently unveiled Jaguar Type 00, a clearly fanciful concept car intended to showcase the brand’s new design direction.

Or is it?

We already know that the first of the new breed of Jaguar will be introduced at some point in 2025. We also know that the new model will be an all-electric, four-door grand tourer. What’s slightly less well known is that the design team behind the Type 00 concept is the same team that’s been working on the new model for the last couple of years. And if you spend a few minutes online you can easily find some of those camouflaged “spy shots” of the new model undergoing road testing too. If you ignore the fancy doors and space-age interior of the concept, all the evidence suggests that the new car will, minus those more flamboyant details, look pretty much the same.



So, Jaguar’s next production car will definitely be a luxury four-seat GT car built on an entirely new platform and boasting those same proportions of long bonnet, big wheels, and low roofline.

Yes, at first glance it may appear to be a reimagining of Lady Penelope’s pink Rolls Royce, but according to Jaguar it will offer the exceptional ride, handling, and comfort – alongside a healthy portion of horsepower - you’d expect from the brand. Apparently, we can also expect a range of around 470 miles and the ability to add 200 miles worth of electricity in a 15-minute rapid charge too.

Jaguar has also confirmed that this brand-new car will carry a price tag somewhere in the region of £120k. If further proof were needed that Jaguar sees its future heading in a much more exclusive direction you can look no further than that number.



Which in a slightly weird turn of events, brings us back to the E-Type.

Arguably one of the greatest cars ever designed, when the E-Type was launched in 1961 it’s fair to say that it took the whole world by surprise. Nobody had seen anything like it before, at least not in a road car on general sale, and no doubt that’s exactly the reaction Jaguar is hoping to recreate with the Type 00. When you have something as iconic and instantly recognisable as the E-Type in your back catalogue, you’d have to be very short-sighted indeed to not draw on that heritage in some way.

Whether or not this bold move succeeds, only time will tell.

Construction has already begun on a new battery gigafactory in Bridgwater, Somerset. Jaguar has also confirmed that once it’s up and running it will be supplying the batteries for the production version of the Type 00. On top of that, Jaguar is investing around £1bn on a bespoke production facility in Solihull to build the new cars. Either way, there is one thing you can’t ignore about Jaguar’s rebrand.

For a car company that isn’t even making any cars, it’s somehow managed to make itself the biggest story in the automotive industry right now.

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