Radical rebrand: Jaguar’s electric debut sparks ‘Barbie pink’ backlash

LONDON, Dec 5 — British luxury carmaker Jaguar has unveiled an electric concept car that critics have derided as “Barbie pink” amid a backlash over a radical rebrand of the iconic company.

The Jaguar Type 00, presented in Miami on Monday, is described by the company as having “bold forms and exuberant proportions to inspire future Jaguars”.

It comes after Jaguar, owned by India’s Tata Motors, last month launched dramatic changes to its branding — dubbed “Copy Nothing” and featuring an advertisement that was slammed as too “woke”.

The move has attracted criticism for the use of eye-catching bright colours and a modern logo featuring geometric shapes.

The changes were on show in the new concept vehicle painted in “Miami Pink” and “London Blue” as well as featuring a long bonnet, sweeping roofline and 23-inch alloy wheels.

Jaguar rebrand advertisement had featured an array of people of different ages and backgrounds dressed in yellow, orange, red and pink clothing, while failing to display a single car.

Reacting, Tesla owner Elon Musk commented on his social media platform X: “You sell cars?”

‘Barbie model’

The rebrand of one of the world’s most iconic car companies has also attracted criticism from commentators in the press.

They have have called the car “Barbie pink” or “Pink Panther” and attacked the advert for being too “woke” in its diverse casting.

Nigel Farage, leader of the far-right Reform UK party, joined in, posting on X: “I predict Jaguar will now go bust. And you know what? They deserve to.”

Rawdon Glover, Jaguar’s managing director, said the company wanted “to be bold and disruptive”.

“More people have been talking about Jaguar for the last two weeks than — goodness, for so much longer,” he told Sky News.

Glover pointed to the brand’s need to appeal to a new audience while avoiding losing loyal fans, as other premium carmarkers around the world shift away from polluting combustion engines.

Jaguar is set to reveal the production-ready version of the vehicle by late 2025, and it is expected to sell for more than £100,000 (RM565,600).

“Jaguar want to shake up the market and shake up their buyer pool,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.

“Jaguar have made people look, and if they can persuade enough of them to buy into the hype... then its strategy will be studied and potentially copied in the years to come,” she added. — AFP