Jaguar’s rebirth was meant to be a clean slate. Nearly a year later, it feels more like a vanishing act. The brand that once stood for understated British confidence is still in limbo, and now comes confirmation that its long-promised electric grand tourer will not debut this year after all. The announcement, made by managing director Rawdon Glover, surprised no one in the industry. Jaguar’s silence has already said enough.
The car itself is not the villain here. The Type 00’s proportions are unmistakably grand touring: low, long, and taut, with the sense of grace Jaguar once did best. It shares certain cues with Mercedes-Benz’s Vision Iconic concept, a car that received near-universal praise a few weeks ago. The Vision Iconic showed how to be forward-looking without losing identity. It was modern, elegant, and beautifully resolved. Had Jaguar trusted its own product and let the car be the focus, the story could have been very different.
Jaguar Type 00
Mercedes-Benz Vision Iconic
The real damage came from one of the most hated rebrands in recent automotive history. Launched in 2024, it was supposed to introduce a bold new Jaguar for the electric age. Instead, it stripped away everything that once made the marque desirable. The “Live Vivid” campaign became a running joke. Its visuals, abstract shapes, postmodern slogans, and models styled like they wandered in from a children’s TV show, said nothing about heritage, design, or craftsmanship. Teletubbies sitting on a rock, someone quipped, and the internet agreed.
People didn’t hate the Type 00 because it was ugly. They hated it because the marketing made it impossible to take seriously. Being extravagantly different is so overused it’s become tacky, and Jaguar’s attempt to chase that trend only made the brand look desperate. The intent was clearly to be daring, but “extravagantly different” is not the same as distinctive. Jaguar’s strength was always quiet confidence. The old cars never shouted for attention. They commanded it.
The sequencing made everything worse. Jaguar pulled every existing model from sale before the new lineup was ready. Dealers had nothing to sell, loyal customers had nowhere to turn, and the brand effectively disappeared from its own market. Sales collapsed not because people stopped caring about Jaguar, but because there was nothing left to buy. When the Type 00 appeared at Art Basel Miami, it was forced to carry the weight of an identity crisis it didn’t create.
If Jaguar had let the car itself be the hero, things might have gone differently. The Type 00’s proportions are right, its intent clear, and its positioning logical. It deserved to be introduced as a statement of engineering and design, not as a backdrop for branding philosophy. Instead, Jaguar buried it beneath a hollow narrative that mistook provocation for progress.
There is still time to turn it around, but not unlimited. Mercedes has shown that reinvention can be achieved without theatrics. The Vision Iconic succeeded because it respected the past while looking to the future. Jaguar could do the same if it remembers what it once stood for. The company has already dismissed the agency responsible for the disastrous campaign, a necessary step, but changing firms means little without changing course.
Jaguar needs to stop overthinking its image and start believing in its product again. Speak plainly. Build beautifully. Let the car do the talking. Otherwise, the cat that once taught the world how elegance moves may not be around for much longer.
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