From 'woke' ridicule to real car - new electric Jaguar unveiled
Two years after JLR relaunched Jaguar into a blizzard of controversy, it has unveiled its new electric car.
From “woke” mockery to a real car: new electric Jaguar revealed
Two years ago, JLR relaunched Jaguar amid a storm of controversy. Its strange teaser ad was branded “woke,” and its “Barbie pink” concept car was mocked.
Now, the first of its new models has been shown in public for the first time. The all-electric Type 01, unveiled in New York, signals a dramatic new direction for the historic brand.
The car is a striking four-door “Grand Tourer,” with a long bonnet that intentionally echoes Jaguar’s iconic 1960s E-Type.
But it is also a gamble for JLR, which has poured billions into reinventing Jaguar despite the risk of collateral damage from the culture wars.
The new model’s electric motors are powerful, delivering about 1000 horsepower and enabling it to go from 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds. JLR says it can achieve a range of up to 320 miles at “sustained highway speed”.
The company calls it the “most technically advanced, powerful and aerodynamic Jaguar ever engineered”.
It also carries a steep price, with a starting cost of £130,000.
In ordinary circumstances, the launch of a car like this might attract little attention. But in this case, the interest has been far greater, and for good reason.
In 2024 Jaguar unveiled its new identity to the public. The first move was a surreal advert featuring models in a variety of bizarre, brightly coloured outfits. There was a new Jaguar logo — but no cars were shown.
Two weeks later, Jaguar’s denim-clad design chief Gerry McGovern appeared on a Miami stage to reveal a pair of radical concept cars, dressed in Miami Pink and London Blue colour schemes. “Jaguar has no desire to be loved by everybody,” he joked.
The event was intended to announce Jaguar’s future as a luxury all-electric marque, but it sparked a furious backlash in the press and on social media.
Critics said JLR was abandoning its heritage in favour of going “woke”. Even the launch colour was dismissed as “Barbie pink,” as culture wars flared around it.
The reaction seemed to take JLR by surprise. Jaguar’s transformation into a luxury electric brand was part of a broader strategy outlined by the company in early 2023, when it pledged to invest £15bn in new models and technologies.
At the time, Jaguar itself was struggling. The badge, once an essential part of Swinging Sixties British cool, had lost its shine. Where it had once provided E-Types to Brigitte Bardot and Steve McQueen, it was now struggling to sell premium saloons and SUVs to middle-ranking corporate executives, who generally preferred Audis and BMWs.
“Jaguar’s core demographic, despite the uproar, gave up on the brand years ago, so they effectively had nothing to lose,” says Matthias Schmidt of Schmidt Automotive Research.
JLR phased out production of its old Jaguar models in 2024 and 2025. The “woke” row, while it may have made life briefly awkward for the company’s leadership, did at least keep the Jaguar name in the public eye at a time when it was selling very few cars.
“It brought Jaguar from the back pages to the front pages, given that it was dying in a crowded international market,” says Schmidt. “Everyone is now talking about what would have been another boring product.”
The GT is expected to be the first of three new electric designs from Jaguar.
Since the Miami event two years ago, McGovern has left the company, JLR has ended its relationship with the agency behind the controversial rebranding campaign, and the company now has a new chief executive.
But Jaguar’s future still remains uncertain.
“I think it really is a last throw of the dice,” says automotive journalist Steve Fowler. “JLR has struggled to make serious money with Jaguar in the past, and that’s what it’s all about.”
The issue now is whether enough buyers will be willing to pay £130,000 for a relatively distinctive premium electric car in a market where they can also choose models from the likes of Porsche, Mercedes-AMG or even fast-growing Chinese brands such as Denza.
“Forget the controversy, the culture wars and the pink concept car,” says Ginny Buckley of the electric car website Electrifying.com.
“What ultimately matters is whether Jaguar has built something extraordinary enough to justify blowing up everything it stood for before.”
She believes the car is good enough to silence critics, but admits “the next challenge will be getting people to buy it”.
Steve Fowler agrees. “The car is good enough to do it,” he says. “Whether the Jaguar brand is good enough remains to be seen.”