Jaguar has launched its new £120,000 electric vehicle – only to prompt a backlash from critics including claims the supposedly 'woke' car resembles a funeral hearse.
uncertain
car → launch → hearse
British actress Florence Pugh, new Jaguar brand ambassador, featured at the unveiling of the British manufacturer's new production-ready Type 01 model at a star-studded event in New York on Tuesday night.
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Pugh → feature → night
It comes two years after the company came up with a controversial rebrand.
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company → come → rebrand
And the latest product has also split opinion between reviewers variously offering praise, more cautious approval or else criticism.
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reviewers → split → praise
Concerns raised include the vehicle's bulk and 5.2-metre length – ruling out fitting into an average British car parking space – as well as the absence of a rear window.
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Concerns → raise → window
The four-wheel drive is just 4ft 7in high while hitting 62mph from a standing start in 3.2 seconds.
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drive → hit → seconds
Jaguar's managing director Rawdon Glover has been open about their aims to target a younger and wealthier market in opposition to what he called a 'shrinking and ageing' customer base of 'men in their 50s'.
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he → target → 50s
British actress Florence Pugh helped launch Jaguar's new Type 01 at an event in New York
He said: 'The Type 01 Jaguar is an unmitigated catastrophe for JLR.
'
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Jaguar → help → JLR
Rather aptly, the car looks like a hearse.
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car → look → hearse
Which, at this point, feels entirely appropriate for the brand.
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Which → feel → brand
'The Type 01 is the sort of ugly even a loving mother would struggle to defend.'
Designed, engineered and built in the UK, the new vehicle has a four-seater layout with a singular 'spine' running through the centre of the cabin and a 118kWh battery which can deliver an expected range of up to 400 miles, the company said.
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company → struggle → miles
It comes after Jaguar sparked controversy when it revealed a series of dramatic changes in November 2024, ahead of becoming a fully electric brand.
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it → come → November
This included a new bespoke logo, written as JaGUar, a new prancing 'leaper' cat design and marketing slogans such as 'delete ordinary', 'live vivid' and 'copy nothing'.
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This → include → nothing
A video posted by the company on X at the time featured people wearing brightly coloured clothes but no vehicles and prompted backlash among some 120,000 comments.
US business leader Elon Musk, who is the largest individual shareholder in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, asked 'Do you sell cars?' to which Jaguar replied 'Yes', with an invitation to an event in Miami in the US.
The British brand has unveiled its new Type 01 four-door GT car that will arrive with customers from next year
The electric saloon is expected to start from £120,000 with higher spec models exceeding £150,000
Executives say their aim is to 'reposition' Jaguar in the market in a bid to secure the future of the 90-year-old British manufacturer by selling fewer cars at a higher price point
Critical reactions on X following the new Type 01 launch have included: 'I think it looks ok, but ok isn’t good enough.
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ok → post → launch
Nobody will buy it, and Jaguar are, as they say these days, "cooked".
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they → buy → it
'People can criticise, but the "woke" direction Jaguar took really has harmed the brand.'
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Jaguar → criticise → brand
Another poster wrote: 'Going woke was one thing.
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Going → write → ?
But they also just make VERY UGLY cars.
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they → make → cars
How did Jaguar, who was famous for sexy cars, switch to making ugly cars?
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who → switch → cars
'
But more positive responses included the comment: 'I like the new Jaguar Type 01, and hope it will sell well in order to protect the jobs in the factory, and wider supply chain.'
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it → include → factory
Production for the new model is due to begin in 2027 at Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) Solihull manufacturing plant in the West Midlands, with electric drive units and battery packs being made in Wolverhampton and body panels in Halewood in Merseyside.
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units → begin → Merseyside
Jaguar’s global marketing director Carlee Hardaker told of clinics involving 2,500 people reviewing the new EV, saying: 'We got more nines and 10s than we'd ever had before – and more ones and twos.
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we → tell → nines
That’s fine.
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That → ’ → ?
We want to evoke an emotion and provoke polarisation of opinion.
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We → want → opinion
If you get people saying, "It's okay", you end up creating a car for everybody that no one really wants.
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one → get → that
We want to drive an emotional connection – and irrational desire.
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We → want → connection
'
And Jaguar's managing director Rawdon Glover has told the Daily Mail he was confident it was going to appeal to younger, urban buyers who 'want to make a strong statement about themselves'.
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who → tell → themselves
Jaguar's managing director Rawdon Glover is seen at the model's launch in New York
Others attending the launch at Stored in New York City included British model David Gandy
British actress Florence Pugh has been announced as Jaguar's new brand ambassador
Inside, a 24in OLED display stretches from behind the steering wheel to the centre of the dashboard, while minimalist seats and plush fabrics feature throughout
This central spine runs through the centre of the car to split the Type 01's cabin into four compartments.
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spine → see → compartments
Inside are cupholders, cubbies and venting for rear passengers
But he acknowledged that the car's expansive proportions and polarising design will not be to everyone's taste, adding: 'I am worldly enough to know that for some people it's perhaps too bold.'
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it → acknowledge → people
The car will cost around twice as much on average as its previous combustion-engined models but the company previously stated it expects 85 per cent of customers buying its next generation of EVs to be new to the brand as it veers in an entirely different direction in terms of powertrain, styling and price.
But Mr Glover says 50,000 people have already expressed an interest in being 'kept informed' about Type 01's availability, with 78 per cent non-Jaguar owners, suggesting a slightly higher retention rate than originally predicted.
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people → cost → rate
We realised we needed to make some really big decisions about where we went next with the brand,' he added.
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he → realise → brand
'Our client base was shrinking and ageing.
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base → shrink → ?
And if you look at the commercial performance of the Jaguar brand, all those things pointed us in one direction.
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things → look → direction
'We had to do something much bolder and take a very big step forward.'
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We → have → step
Responses have included trade magazine Auto Express dubbing the new model 'a spectacular piece of design underpinned by impressive engineering'.
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Responses → include → engineering
Their reviewer added: 'Whether that’s enough to create the electric luxury four-door GT market is another question entirely.
'
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’s → add → market
But the ambition must be applauded, and Britain should get behind it: if this fails, it’s hard to see how Tata can revive the once leading car brand.'
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Tata → applaud → brand
The Top Gear website described the Type 01 as 'massive, ambitious, controversial, and expensive', adding: 'The whole point of this car is to create a "bloody-hell" moment.'
CAR magazine suggested it could be 'the most fascinating new car of the decade', adding of the vehicle's interior: 'It’s a little bit like one of those ultra-modern houses that are filled with marble and flat surfacing that makes you scared to put a coffee mug on a countertop – super minimalist and pared back to the base elements.
'
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you → describe → elements
Not to say it doesn’t feel plush, though; impressive focus has gone into material use with satisfying soft-touch materials, more brass elements and even wool carpeting.'
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focus → say → materials
The Daily Mail's motoring editor Rob Hull has written about his experience testing the Type 01, saying: 'The first big surprise is that you sit low within the guts of the chassis, as you would in a traditional sports car.
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you → write → car
…and 22 more, not listed.
The Aporia
