If all news is good news, as the saying goes, Jaguar’s “copy nothing” marketing campaign for their Type 00 concept teaser last November was astoundingly good news. According to reporting by Auto Express, one billion people saw the viral campaign that announced the carmaker’s stark departure from its fusty past. However, it also stirred controversy. Jaguar managing director Rawdon Glover shared details during that interview on how that went down — and also what Jaguar intends to do going forward.
Going Very Upscale
Glover told Auto Express that the carmaker’s strategy with electrification is to go very upscale. He told the publication that “We do need to create and attract a new client base,” one that’s wealthier and younger, too. He believes they’ll also be “design-led and urban-centric.” Glover said that “What got lost” with the campaign and the design of the Type 00 is that “we do care about our existing clients.” However, the carmaker expects the first car they bring out in the new fold, a four-door GT, to run roughly $140,000. That sticker eliminates about 85 percent of current owners.
Small Numbers, High Dollars
Glover noted that some customers who’ve purchased high-spec’d F-Types and SVR customers will come along on Jaguar’s new ride. And because Jaguar-Land Rover has been a “thing” for some time now, it’s not hard to imagine the Range Rover crowd taking a peak, too.
That’s probably critical, in fact, because even as Range Rover goes electric, it has successfully harnessed lots of “editions” and one-offs. Now, with sales falling through the floor for Jaguar, from 181,000 half a decade ago to what Glover believes will be more like 33,000 cars globally, Jaguar will have to court the well-heeled (actually, the Gucci-toed) to survive.
Whatever the 2+2 Looks Like, It Will Be Electric
Glover makes a fair point about the new campaign, which is that despite their best efforts over many restarts, Jaguar fell off the map. It was a brand that was irrelevant, save for its long-ago 1960s cool. Glover said that that’s partly why the clean break is also one that’s 100-percent focused on electrification, and that the carmaker, unlike many others of late, will not backtrack on that mission. And, yes, we’ll get a look at the 2+2 in a form that’s close to production in late 2025, and Glover says that indeed it will at least echo the concept.
Probably A Cross Between a Lucid Air and a Porsche Taycan
To go upscale, and still be Jaguar, the carmaker needs to chase some peers in the price and aspiration segment. Jaguar is eying a car that’s roughly the scale of the Lucid Air, and wants similar range targets. Truly, they have no choice in order to compete. Likewise, because they are Jaguar and not a more staid brand, the GT will have to be reasonably sporty. Having tested many past Jaguars, we have little doubt of their capability in the latter department.
Glover made clear that they won’t really hit production until 2027, but that’s the right timing for when a greater diversity of more exciting EVs will be hitting the market. That’s hard to predict, but he’s possibly correct, since EVs are still in their nascency, with very few niche sports cars (that aren’t $2.5 million Rimacs, et al). More dense battery technology should be online by then, which in turn means lighter cars and more agile performance.
TopSpeed’s Take
To climb a very steep, very rugged mountain, you’d be better off in a rig from Jag stablemate Land Rover. But it’s going to be on Jaguar to execute this climb to relevance. The Type 00’s styling is polarizing to say the least. The new grille is … tough to digest. Whether that matters as the company becomes a niche player, competing against other options the ultra-wealthy might want, is an open question.
Jaguar has all sorts of elegant “studios” planned for world capitals like Paris and Shanghai, where customers can shop and configure cars virtually, much like their peers with Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and others offer the customers they each woo. And said customers live in an N+1 world. Still, this hazards Jaguar as a fashion statement, up against the likes of Porsche and other “labels” that carry more gravitas. Being the flavor of the day might hold at first, but branding durability is always fickle.
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