Jaguar is skipping 2025 in England as it steps back, regroups, and strategizes its challenge against Bentley
Jaguar has once again hit the reset button, unveiling a bold new direction, fresh branding, and a slate of upcoming models in late 2024. The shift is dramatic—to say the least—and a leaked memo suggests even insiders have doubts. However, executives remain firm in their belief that this is the right path forward, emphasizing that change was necessary.
Jaguar’s managing director, Rawdon Glover, described this as “a pivotal point in its history” in a conversation with Autocar. Every model and platform in its lineup needed an overhaul. Previously, Jaguar tried to compete with BMW—the XE targeted the 3 Series, while the XF aimed at the 5 Series—but the strategy failed to drive sales.
“The Jaguar model didn’t make economic sense,” Glover admitted, adding that moving downmarket wasn’t a viable option either. A brand with the legacy of the E-Type couldn’t realistically position itself below BMW, competing with Nissan’s or Toyota’s luxury offerings. Instead, executives made the controversial call to move Jaguar upmarket, positioning it closer to Bentley.
That means a significant price jump, with Glover hinting that future Jaguars will cost roughly twice as much as their predecessors. The transformation is previewed by the Type 00 concept, unveiled in December 2024—a striking, all-electric vehicle unlike anything the brand has produced before. Built on a new platform, it is expected to evolve into a production model by the end of 2025.
In the meantime, Jaguar is preparing what Glover calls “an elegant sunset” for its remaining models. While more poetic than saying, “We’re axing everything,” the outcome remains the same. The company has already pulled out of new car sales in its home market of England—an unprecedented move for a major automaker. Its U.S. website still lists the F-Pace, E-Pace, I-Pace, F-Type, and XF, but some of these are no longer in production. The brand is effectively taking a gap year, hoping to use this time to build anticipation.
“There’s no real playbook for this because no one has done it before,” Glover noted. “It’s been an interesting challenge, but we now have this ‘breathing space’ to build the brand, awareness, and interest before we start taking orders again.”
Of course, this shift has drawn criticism, with some arguing that Jaguar is abandoning its existing customers. Glover pushed back on this notion.
“I understand why people feel that way because we’re openly saying Jaguar needs to attract a new audience,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t care about our current customers. Quite the opposite—we want to bring as many of them along on this journey as possible.”
The reality, however, is that current Jaguar owners who wish to stay with the brand will need to be willing to pay a much higher price for their next car.
Will they? It’s not impossible. Glover cited the second-generation Land Rover Defender as an example. The original was beloved for its ruggedness, but it was, in his words, “essentially a family-friendly tractor.” The new Defender is far more luxurious, dramatically more comfortable, and significantly more expensive—yet it has tripled sales volume.
Jaguar doesn’t expect to triple its sales, but the Defender’s reinvention proves that a brand transformation can work. Whether Jaguar’s customers will follow remains the billion-dollar question.
