- Jaguar's Type 00 electric grand tourer will launch later this year with pricing above US$100,000 (NZ$167k).
- The company expects 85% of its existing customer base will not return for the new model.
- Design-led EV brand pivot targets expressive, affluent and modernist-oriented buyers.
Jaguar appears to be ditching the whole garage. As the company prepares to launch its first model under a radically new identity, the upcoming Type 00, its leadership is candid about what’s coming: a complete brand overhaul, a six-figure price tag and the loss of most existing customers.
Not your dad’s Jag anymore
According to Jaguar Managing Director Rawdon Glover, around 85% of current buyers are expected to walk away from the brand’s electric reboot. And he’s not sugarcoating it. “People who can afford to spend over US$100,000 (around NZ$167,000) on the extravagant grand tourer typically buy cars for their design and interior,” Glover says. “Powertrain is about 13th on the list.”
In short: forget torque specs - this is now a fashion purchase.
Jaguar’s new ethos is built around what it calls Exuberant Modernism, with a mission to appeal to the expressive, art-forward and musically inclined. “Jaguar is all about exuberance, modernism, really progressive… an environment where you have progressive people, arts, modern music, etc.,” said Martin Limpert, who oversees the Range Rover sub-brand under the same corporate umbrella.
The aim is, evidently, to court a younger, more design-focused crowd and leave the petrolhead past behind.
Grace, Space, and... Replacement?
Once defined by its “Grace, Space, Pace” mantra, Jaguar is now leaving behind combustion engines and its long-time rivalry with German marques. Only the F-Pace SUV remains in production - and not for much longer. The Type 00 signals the turning point: a grand tourer that leads the charge into an electrified and ultra-premium future. A Jaguar SUV to rival Bentley’s first electric offering is also expected to follow.
Gerry McGovern, Jaguar’s design chief, claims the transformation is both radical and respectful. “We are creating Jaguar for the future, restoring its status as a brand that enriches the lives of our clients and the Jaguar community,” he said, while also noting a return to the core values that once defined the marque.
Whether buyers follow remains to be seen, but one thing’s clear: Jaguar is no longer playing by its old rulebook. And that might be exactly what it needs at exactly the right time. That, or it crashes and burns in spectacular fashion. Either way, the future of Jaguar will be one to watch.
