Jaguar’s sales have plummeted after the legendary British car marque’s ‘woke’ rebrand left fans outraged.
Sales of the luxury motoring manufacturer appear to be in freefall following its controversial move to scrap its iconic ‘growler’ big cat logo in November.
The firm’s rebrand saw it replace the well-known badge in favour of a geometric ‘J’ design – which lovers of the brand raged looked like the logo on a handbag clasp.
Meanwhile, a glossy ad campaign accompanying the design overhaul, featuring androgynous-looking men and women in exuberant clothes, also came under fire.
And as the firestorm surrounding the famed car maker’s change continues to rage, sales at Jaguar Europe have plunged a staggering 97.5 per cent.
Jaguar has insisted the rebrand has ‘nothing to do’ with its falling sales.
According to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (AECA), the company registered just 49 new vehicles in April 2025 compared to 1,961 units sold in the same month last year.
Year-to-date sales from January to April also slumped, dropping 75.1 per cent with just 2,665 motors sold.
Globally, Jaguar sold just 26,862 vehicles for the 2024/25 financial year – an 85 per cent drop compared to 2018.
The sales dip followed Jaguar’s repositioning away from its performance and heritage roots towards a lifestyle-focused, fashion-forward brand.
Jag’s big rebrand had been in development for three years as the company prepares to become an all-electric car manufacturer ahead of the UK’s 2030 target to stop selling new purely fossil fuel-powered cars.
Launched under the slogan ‘copy nothing’ – an adage from company founder Sir William Lyons – the new ad featured diverse models in technicolour outfits walking through an alien landscape.
Around 800 people are believed to have worked on the rebrand, which peaked with the unveiling of a ‘design vision concept’ at Miami Art Week in December.
However, the sales slump may not be as catastrophic as it first appears. As part of Jaguar’s refresh, the car firm intentionally stopped producing cars at the end of 2024, a move which stretched into 2025.
The manufacturer – now owned by an Indian firm – is currently seeking to bring in a new range of entirely electric vehicles, which were due for release this year.
Defending the news, Jaguar said it was ‘pointless’ to compare figures for 2024 and 2025 as it was seeking to move to its all-electric model and insisted the company’s rebranding was ‘not related to a sales decline’.
It’s unclear whether the brand’s gamble – thought to be in a bid to attract younger, more environmentally conscious motorists – will pay off.
However, global branding experts appeared to be less than convinced, ridiculing the makeover and dubbing it a ‘dog’s dinner’.
Californian designer Joseph Alessio said it would be ‘taught in schools as how not to do a rebrand,’ while another designer labelled it ‘one of the most destructive marketing moves ever attempted.’
While public relations experts said they were stumped by the firm’s decisions – from the ‘vandalism’ of the company’s iconic logo to the apparent casting off of decades of motoring heritage to attract new buyers.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede said he was ‘baffled’ by the marketing push – which featured precisely no cars – while Oli Garnett, co-founder of creative design agency Something Familiar, called the rebrand a ‘dog’s dinner’.
The likes of Nigel Farage and Elon Musk led other critics, with Farage describing it as ‘woke’ and warned the automaker risked ‘going bust’ due to its new design choice.
And billionaire Space X owner Musk turned the knife on X, simply asking Jaguar: ‘Do you sell cars?’
Jaguar, meanwhile, doubled down on the rebrand, sending sassy and saccharine replies to detractors on social media who question the wisdom of moving away from the kind of thinking that birthed iconic vehicles such as the E-Type.
And the company’s boss, Rawdon Glover – managing director of the Indian-owned firm – hit out at the ‘vile hatred and intolerance’ directed at the eccentric-looking models who appeared in the video released on November 18.
Mr Glover denied the firm was throwing away its near-100-year heritage with its most dramatic rebrand in decades – instead claiming the car maker needed to step away from ‘traditional automotive stereotypes’ to find its place in the market.
Mr Glover told the Financial Times he believed the overall reaction to the campaign had been ‘very positive’, but that he was disappointed by the ‘level of vile hatred and intolerance’ directed at the models in the advert.
‘If we play in the same way that everybody else does, we’ll just get drowned out. So we shouldn’t turn up like an auto brand,’ Glover said.
‘We need to re-establish our brand and at a completely different price point so we need to act differently. We wanted to move away from traditional automotive stereotypes.’
Jaguar Land Rover said its transformation towards a ‘new portfolio of pure-electric vehicles’ was announced as part of the ‘Reimagine strategy in 2021’.
‘JLR always envisaged a period when the current range would “no longer be on sale” before the introduction of the new Jaguar collection,’ a spokeswoman added.
‘Production of XE, XF, F-TYPE, I-PACE and E-PACE all came to an end in 2024 as part of that transition. This strategic ‘sunset’ of the product range is going to plan and will allow Jaguar to transform and reposition the brand for the future.
‘Comparing Jaguar sales to 2024 is pointless as we are no longer producing vehicles in 2025 with low levels of retail inventory available. Jaguar’s rebranding is not related to a sales decline.’
