Jaguar's rebrand: Bold leap or tradition killer?

Updated Nov. 26, 2024, 7:50 a.m. | By East Coast Breakfast

Jaguar recently announced their rebrand that’s making waves, or maybe ripples; depending on who you ask.

Jaguar's rebrand: Bold leap or tradition killer? — Jaguar Commercial / Screenshot / YouTube

The luxury British carmaker, renowned for its classic designs and heritage appeal, has dropped its traditional model as it shifts to become an ultra-luxury, all-electric brand by 2025.

Their new slogan? “Copy Nothing.” This doesn’t sound as grandiose as the previous slogan “The Art of performance”, but why settle for ordinary when you can rewrite the rules of the road?

The rebranded logo features a minimalistic and sleek visual identity revealed at Miami Art Week. Jaguar stated that they’re targeting a new audience, predicting that 80-90% of its future buyers will be first timers. In other words, the company is swiping left on its loyal customers in hopes of attracting Gen Z millionaires.

Sadly though, most people prefer the iconic Jaguar emblem. It screamed sports and precision. The new logo seems more “office-like”, which is far from the Gen Z experience.

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However, the most important part of this transformation is Jaguar’s upcoming line of electric vehicles, set to debut in 2025. These EVs are designed to rival the likes of Bentley and Rolls-Royce, blending emotion and innovation.

The public reactions to this rebrand have ranged from admiration to confusion. Many applaud the bold shift while others think Jaguar is ignoring its heritage in favour of trends.

One disappointed fan called the rebrand a “confusing visual assault”, which is how many petrol heads feel. Even their newest commercial confused fans even more because it didn’t involve or showcase any cars, just a lot of colours.

What’s worse is while Jaguar is looking to conquer the EV market, many car companies are moving away from EVs and returning to petrol engines because of the many factors that make EVs less efficient for daily use; like the fact that your phone can charge faster than the car.

We get what Jaguar is trying to do, but it feels a bit too forced. Rebranding is one thing, but killing decades of tradition and culture is something else; and hopefully it won’t affect the legacy they’ve worked so hard to build.