by Michael Satterfield - 11/19/2024
Jaguar is a brand that has been beloved by automotive enthusiasts for decades, thanks largely to his amazing success in racing during the 1950s, producing Le Mans winners like XK-120C, C-Type, and D-Type, then in the 60s "the most beautiful car ever made" according to Enzo Ferrari was a the iconic Jaguar E-Type. Jaguars were driven by Steve McQueen, George Harrison, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, and Elton John. Then you had the XJR-9, XK220, and even some Formula 1 Success in the early 2000s.
I have long been a fan of the brand and owned two XK8s, which were terrific cars to drive; I even spent some time trying to keep an old V12 XJS running. While I have loved many Jaguar cars, the brand lost its direction over the years, producing the disappointing I-Pace, rebadging SUVs, and abandoning its roots as once producing the fastest cars in the world. Limited production cars like Project 7, Project 8, and the C-X75 concept gave some of us hope that Jaguar was returning to its roots, but their 2023 announcement that their future would be an all-electric one dashed any hope for a future of Jaguar sports cars.
To confirm that the Jaguar we loved is dead, after years of mismanagement, JLR officially drove the final nail into the coffin and unveiled the brand's new "visual identity." The main wordmark (which Jaguar is calling a "device mark") appears to be a modified version of a font called 'Etalon' with the J and R being mirrored anchors; they carry that J and R over to the new round logo, the only place the iconic 'Leaper' can be found is in a striped reversed logo which Jaguar is describing a "strikethrough" which apparently is going to be part of their overall design language throughout their product line. The new color palette for the brand is white and gold.
Jaguar hasn't showcased how its new branding will look on its upcoming vehicles, but the brand will unveil a "design vision" concept car during Miami Art Week on December 2. They have been teasing the car world with camouflaged photos of their first new product road testing, which appears to be a massive sedan; Jaguar has stated that they plan to move the brand upmarket, which makes this approach to branding all the more interesting for someone like me who's day job is working in branding and marketing, specifically in the luxury and heritage space.
In the ever-evolving landscape of luxury branding, the tension between honoring heritage and embracing modernity has leaned more towards embracing brand history over the last several years, abandoning the sans-serif wordmark logo rebrands of the early 2000s for more expressive and interesting logos or logo collections. With luxury brands like Burberry, Saint Laurent, and others returning to logos from their past, it raises critical questions for Jaguar about the resonance of minimalist design in the contemporary luxury market, especially as they set their targets on brands like Rolls-Royce, Maybach, and Bentley.
I assume that Jaguar's team believes that embracing minimalism conveys innovation, conscious consumption, sustainability, and a forward-thinking ethos. The new design language is obviously intended to appeal to a younger, tech-savvy demographic, aligning with the brand's electric vehicle aspirations. This might have been the right move 5-10 years ago, but they seemed to have missed the revolution among today's luxury consumers. Luxury buyers in 2024 value authenticity, craftsmanship, and a compelling brand story, wanting to connect to something larger than themselves. They want exclusivity, experiences, and a deeper emotional connection to the brands they buy.
As part of the rebrand, Jaguar deleted all of its social media posts, sharing a new video set to house music featuring several androgynous fashion models wearing outlandish outfits. They moodly stomp around as declarations like "Live Vivid" and "Delete Ordinary" flash on the screen. The models are featured upside-down, painting strikes on glass, or menacing viewers with a sledgehammer. What is not shown in their new video is a car of any kind... Who this is meant to appeal to... I don't know, and it doesn't seem to resonate with the users on social media as Jaguar is getting raitoed with negative comments across all platforms.
Although innovative, Jaguar's minimalist rebrand and exclusively electric offering will alienate most of its dwindling traditional consumer base. Tossing aside over a century of brand recognition and turning the once-storied brand into an EV start-up akin to Fisker or Lucide. JLR might have been better off selling the brand to an enthusiast owner and launching a new car company altogether rather than sacrificing the brand's core identity to try to appeal to the EV start-up enthusiast of 2014.
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| Logos of the brands Jaguar is emulating vs the logos of brands they say they want to compete with. |
Moreover, in the competitive luxury market, differentiation is key, and Jaguar has said they are repositioning to be an ultra-luxury EV brand. However, the competitors they target, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, and Maybach, have not adopted a similar design language. This minimalist design aesthetic positions Jaguar to look more like other EV start-ups like Arrival, Rivian, and Lucid, potentially diluting its ultra-luxury status. Plus, Lucid has accumulated $2.7 billion in losses over the past year, Faraday Future has lost $3.874 billion since launching, and Rivian lost $1.45 billion in just the first quarter of 2024. I predict rebranding as a 2014 EV start-up in 2026 likely won't go well for Jaguar.
At the end of the day, a minimalist rebrand is a gamble as Jaguar transitions to an all-electric product line by 2026, and it is a bold departure from the heritage-focused strategies I see from most other luxury brands. Jaguar's new launch might be dead on arrival; by the time the 2026 products launch, I will reserve my judgment for the product until I see it (I doubt I will be on their media list to drive one). Still, based on the trend of EV-only automakers, it doesn't look like a sunny future for one of history's most significant automotive brands, and as an automotive enthusiast, it is sad to watch.
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