Jaguar goes woke: Fury as car firm bins cat logo as it goes electric

by · Mail Online

Jaguar has infuriated car fans on social media with a radical new redesign that has been described as 'woke' and 'unhinged'.

The car firm, which is almost 100 years old, unveiled a bold rebrand yesterday worked on by a team of 800 that has ditched most of its classic iconography, including the 'growler' badge depicting a roaring big cat.

In an advertisement that featured precisely no cars and a techno music soundtrack, the firm said it would 'create exuberant', 'live vivid', 'delete ordinary' and 'break moulds' - but so far all it has done is stoke fury from its traditional audience.

The firm's managing director has admitted that those likely angered by the rebrand are no longer the target market - as it seeks to attract a new, younger audience with an all-electric range of brand new models.

And with the unveiling of a concept car that is meant to sum up its new approach to car design just two weeks away, it is likely in line for further backlash.

As Jaguar revealed the new look yesterday, it knew it was set for a violent reaction. Car fans have reacted angrily to a rebrand that they say lacks claws - branding it 'woke' and 'unhinged'.

'Congratulations,' weighed in one commenter on Jaguar's Instagram. 'You've killed a British icon.' 

In return, the firm has responded in kind with replies ranging from the cryptic to downright saccharine, suggesting it simply doesn't care - as its boss admitted to This is Money the firm expects only 15 per cent of buyers to be existing customers.

With 20 million views of the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, alone, Jaguar PR bosses will be arguing there such no such thing as bad publicity. 

Jaguar's new rebrand has attracted accusations the company has gone 'woke' - as it launched the new look with an advert featuring no cars
The classic Jaguar 'growler' logo has been ditched as the car firm reinvents itself to appeal to a younger audience of car buyers
This is the new Jaguar logo - a roundel made up of the letter 'J' that looks the same both ways up
Jaguar has unveiled its new 'brand' look with a technicolour advertisement that features precisely no cars
Jaguar has been accused of going 'woke' by car fans on social media - but responses from the firm suggest it is not bothered by the reaction

'Hello, thanks for the feedback! We’ll be sure to pass it onto the team. Best wishes,' the firm said to many of its detractors on social media.

'Go woke, go broke,' wrote several people in tweets to the firm. 'Go hard,' Jaguar fired back.

Responding to an almost accusatory tweet reading 'I thought you guys made cars??', the firm's social media team simply said: 'We do. All will be revealed.'

Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk got in on the act, asking the firm: 'Do you sell cars?'

Read More

Jaguar ditches roaring big cat badge for its EV rebrand - and admits it won't appeal to traditional customers

Jaguar replied warmly, inviting him to the launch event for its new concept car at Miami Art Week.

It said: 'Yes. We'd love to show you. Join us for a cuppa in Miami on 2nd December?'

But Joseph Alessio, a designer and art director based in California, blasted the new look, writing: 'This will be taught in schools as how not to do a rebrand.'

Another designer said: 'The Jaguar rebrand is going to go down in history as one of the most destructive marketing moves ever attempted.'

The radical look is part of Jaguar's complete reimagination as it races ahead of the 2030 deadline for car firms to stop selling petrol and diesel cars in the UK. 

It has been testing what looks to be a radically different four-door saloon in the UK recently, draped in zebra-style camouflage paint that covers up its mysterious curves and details, down to the shapes of the windows and headlamps. 

But this is not the concept that will be unveiled in Miami. Instead, that will be a 'design vision concept' that will probably cause as much upset as the rebrand. 

Not that Jaguar appears to be fussed by the reaction as it wiped its social media profiles clean. Gone are the images of slick coupes and classics: instead, all that remains are the technicolour fashion models and slogans.

The video shows models walking through an alien-esque rocky landscape rendered in pink. What it has to do with cars is not immediately clear.

The advert features boldly dressed fashion models in bright primary colours alongside slogans such as 'break moulds' and 'create exuberant'
Jaguar says each slogan represents a 'key symbol of change' as it moves forward as an all-electric car company
Jaguar says its new philosophy will 'command attention through fearless creativity' - a phrase that suggests it knew it would spark a backlash with its new look
It has wiped its social media presence clean - with no suggestion at all on its Instagram that it is a car company
Jaguar has given short shrift to the outrage on social media - and even invited Elon Musk, boss of direct rival Tesla, to the launch event for its new concept car in Miami

Asked by one social media user if the rebrand was 'supposed to rescue your tarnished brand', the firm replied on X: 'Quite the opposite. This is a renaissance.'

'For shame,' one fan wrote, sharing an image of his two convertible Jaguars, as he accused the firm of 'pandering'.

Global Jaguar sales over the years

  • 2023/24: 66,866 cars
  • 2022/23: 62,521 cars 
  • 2021/22: 77,381 cars
  • 2020/21: 97,669 cars
  • 2019/20: 140,593 cars 
  • 2018/19: 180,198 cars 

 Source: Jaguar Land Rover

The company has been unapologetic as it pushes forward with its reinvention and even concedes that 85 per cent of its customers in future will be new fans of the brand - younger affluent drivers looking for electric motors. 

It described its new philosophy as embracing 's bold designs, unexpected and original thinking' that will 'command attention through fearless creativity'. It has certainly done that.

Gerry McGovern, the car firm's design boss, said yesterday he wanted to create a 'jaw-dropping' redesign that will 'shock, surprise and polarise'.

'It will make you feel uncomfortable. That's fine. The world is not standing still,' he said at a launch event yesterday.

The firm's managing director, Rawdon Glover, admitted 85 per cent of its customers in future would be first-time buyers.

He has also confessed is also 'no Plan B' for the firm, which was sold by Ford to Tata in 2008. 

The new Jaguar logo features largely lower case letters - save for a single capitalised 'G' - in what the company is calling a 'complete reset'
The 'leaper' cat logo still exists - but has been reversed to jump to the right as a sign the company is 'always leaping forward'
Gerry McGovern, Jaguar's chief creative officer, is unapologetic over the redesign. He said yesterday: 'It will make you feel uncomfortable. That's fine'
'Hello, thanks for the feedback! We’ll be sure to pass it onto the team. Best wishes,' the firm said to many of its detractors on social media

'To bring back such a globally renowned brand we had to be fearless. Jaguar was always at its best when challenging convention,' he said yesterday. 

The marque appears to have pivoted away from the qualities that made it distinctly British - ditching its associations with the stoicness of Inspector Morse in his red Mk2, or Ben Kingsley, Mark Strong and Tom Hiddleston purring that villains 'all drive Jaguars' in a (now banned) TV advert.

Gone is the classic all-caps 'JAGUAR' font that recalled stateliness and even a hint of menace. In its place, a jumble of letters that appears to read 'JaGuar' and a roundel badge that reads 'J' both ways.

Even the classic 'leaper' big cat isn't spared from the overhaul - changing from leaping right-to-left to left-to-right as a sign the firm is 'always leaping forward'. It will appear on a new lined background reminiscent of the IBM logo.

The bold colours trailed in the controversial new ad will be rolled out to Jaguar showrooms to shake off the idea that Jags are stuffy and for the older generation.

Comparisons could be made to the legendary Silk Cut cigarette adverts, which featured no cigarettes. The tobacco brand famously sponsored Jaguar's most iconic race car, the XJR-9, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988.

Jaguar has long been associated with the likes of Inspector Morse (as played by John Thaw, above) - rarely seen without his iconic Mk2 
The Jaguar E-Type - a stone-cold design classic (left) - and its spiritual successor the F-Type (right) are now consigned to the past
Instead, Jaguars will look something like this in the near future. This is a prototype of its first all-electric car - a four-door saloon currently hidden behind a camouflage paint job

The firm says the new look is inspired by the words of its founder, Sir William Lyons, who once said: 'A Jaguar should be a copy of nothing.' 

'This dramatic, unmistakable and unexpected expression of what it means to Copy Nothing will be a preview of the fearless approach to come from Jaguar,' it said in a statement. 

Jaguar is withdrawing from the UK car market for 12 months as it 'sunsets' its legacy cars, which most recently included the E-Pace and F-Pace SUVs, the F-Type coupe and convertible and the I-Pace electric car.

Moving forward, the firm has a four-door saloon to come and is expected to follow this up with a two-door 'fastback' coupe boasting a roofline reminiscent of the classic E-Type and a large SUV.

The saloon is expected to hit the market in 2026 for just under £100,000 - placing it in a premium market alongside other electric grand tourers such as the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT and Mercedes-Benz EQS.

It has also been working on its electric car technology in the background as it withdrew petrol and diesel models from the market, competing in the Formula E electric motorsports championship.