Updated: 05:58 AEDT, 11 January 2025
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Jaguar sales have nosedived by more than a quarter in the last year ahead of the legendary British car marque's dramatic 'woke' rebrand.
The company was mauled for ditching the iconic 'growler' badge, used for decades on grilles and bonnets, and replacing it with a curved geometric 'J' badge.
Other controversial changes included unveiling a bright pink concept car, which was aimed at updating Jaguar's image for the electric age.
But design experts and Jag fans ridiculed the makeover, branding it 'cultural vandalism' and the 'most destructive marketing move ever'.
Now new industry registration figures released by parent company, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) revealed the number of cars sold by the Indian-owned firm fell by 12,459 to just 33,320 in 2024.
Although the sales figures almost entirely cover the period before the rebrand, Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK who was critical of Jaguar's move, gloated: 'Go woke, go broke.'
The dramatic slump came after Jaguar slammed the brakes on the production of five existing models earlier in the year, as it developed its entirely new range of all-electric vehicles, to go on sale this year aimed at a much younger audience.
But while Jaguar sales slumped further, demand for the car maker's luxury Range Rover and Defender models soared.
The new rebrand (above) attracted accusations the company has gone 'woke' - after putting out an advert featuring no cars
The advert features boldly dressed fashion models in bright primary colours alongside slogans such as 'break moulds' and 'create exuberant'
Pictured are the bright-looking concept cars unveiled by Jaguar late last year as part of its electric car overhaul
Jag's big rebrand has 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 ad features diverse models in technicolour outfits walking through an alien landscape.
Around 800 people are reported to have worked on the rebrand, with managing director Rawdon Glover saying: 'We need to change people's perceptions of what Jaguar stands for.'
But the radical break from Jaguar's traditional image provoked a fierce backlash, with critics accusing the firm of trampling on its British heritage.
Critics also lashed out at diversity of the advert, which features androgynous-looking men and women in exuberant clothes.
Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, warned the brand would go bust in the wake of the overhaul, while others branded the makeover 'woke' and 'unhinged'.
Marketing experts across the world also said they were 'baffled' by the move, with Californian designer Joseph Alessio saying it would be 'taught in schools as how not to do a rebrand'.
However, Jaguar boss Mr Glover hit back over the 'vile hatred and intolerance' directed at the eccentric-looking models who appeared in the video advert.
He 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.
Rawdon Glover, managing director of Jaguar, has fired back at those who criticised the car brand's much maligned rebrand
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,' he added.
Gerry McGovern, the company's chief creative officer, admitted the concept car unveiled in December wouldn't be 'loved by everyone' but added: 'That's what fearless creativity does.'
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