Since the 1940s, Jaguar has made top-of-the-line luxury performance cars. In the early 1960s, Jaguar introduced the E-Type, a two-door grand coupe revered as one of the most stunning cars ever made. Throughout the 20th century, the brand thrived and profited from the vehicles it sold. 

As someone interested in cars since I was young, I have been watching the brand over the past few years. While the cars are very cool, with large engines and great performance figures, the market prefers efficiency over performance. As a car enthusiast, I disagree with this. However, I am a part of a very small demographic who values the sound, feel, and engineering that goes behind cars, not just efficiency.

Within the past few years, many car brands have been putting smaller engines into their cars, developing new electric vehicles, and axing cars from their lineups that are not as efficient due to low sales. However, this process does not fit with the ethos of the Jaguar brand. Jaguar has historically been known for high-performance vehicles. However, most consumers are not looking for blistering performance in their cars.

Due to concerns about reliability and price, Jaguar fell to its competitors. In 2023, Jaguar only sold 8,300 cars and SUVs, with similar companies such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz selling 362,000 and 351,000, respectively.

In response, earlier in 2024, Jaguar announced it was taking a break from selling cars worldwide. The hiatus is expected to last about a year, but Jaguar never directly confirmed the duration of their break. During its hiatus, Jaguar has been trying to redefine and rebrand itself as a high-end electric vehicle company. However, With EV sales not growing at the same rate as as the last few years due to a lack of infrastructure, I am skeptical that there will be many buyers for their new $100k+ vehicles.

Critics have raised questions about whether the rebrand was necessary. They claim that Jaguar is straying away from its heritage, which made it popular throughout the 1900s. Although it did not have strong sales figures back then, enthusiasts and celebrities revered the cars.

Making high-end, flagship models can either be successful or detrimental for an automobile company. For example, Mercedes-Benz, a German automaker, sells its G-Wagon SUV with a high price tag and lower production numbers. While their car does not sell as well as other models, it holds its value in the used market and is a popular vehicle. While the design is a bit polarizing, Mercedes has found that people desire the image of driving an expensive off-road SUV. 

(Mecredes G-Wagon)

BMW tried to mimic this model in 2023, releasing the BMW XM. The SUV starts at $159k but has lost almost ⅓ of its value in the used market, with models trading between $90k and $110k. They also lost money on development, not selling as many models as they expected. With this failure in mind, should Jaguar also try to make an expensive flagship model?

​​(BMW XM)

On December 2nd, Jaguar released their Type-00 concept, a 2-door electric coupe with a supposedly high price tag. Their new motto, “Copy Nothing,” does not stand true in my opinion, as the rear-end design of the car seems to be a mix of a Tesla Cybertruck and an air conditioner. The design of their new concept car has no design traits that link to their heritage, marking a total rebrand. The public has “re-designed” the model, changing aspects such as the front end. With these changes, the car links itself back to its heritage, which in my opinion, would increase the appeal of the Type-00. 

(Type-00 Concept Redesign)

While most critics believe that Jaguar is going to go bankrupt in the coming years, journalist Doug Demuro thinks otherwise. In a podcast, although he agrees the last few years for Jaguar haven’t been great, and their current model doesn’t seem to be working, he thinks that the rebrand could be successful for them, and help find new buyers. However, he criticizes the decision of choosing to sell expensive electric vehicles, especially with sales not as strong as the past few years. 

I think that with the stark departure from their heritage, the rebrand might not lead to a successful future. As mentioned before, the majority of car buyers aren’t looking for heritage and performance, they are looking for the best price tag and the most fuel efficient. 

The influence Jaguar has left on the car market, including being the first company to aerodynamically test their vehicles, can be seen from the 1960s to the present day. The cars are also symbols of success and sophistication, appearing in films such as James Bond, furthering their icon status. In the 1960s, when the founder of Ferrari called the Jaguar E-type “the most beautiful car ever made,” the brand gained popularity. We will have to see how it performs in the near future, and I hope that Jaguar doesn’t have to close its doors.