I don’t know how much of a hope this is going to be, but I’d love nothing more in the motoring world in 2025 than for Jaguar to look like a company with a big future.
The furore around the branding change is out of the way, and reaction to the Type 00 concept car is at least mixed, which is what the designers said they wanted. Not everyone loves it, but plenty of people do.
And now we’ve seen the actual concept car, rather than the awful sketches Jaguar bafflingly decided would be the best way to introduce its brave new future, I’m excited to see how that translates to the four-door GT production car that will be revealed sometime in mid-2025.
A resurgent and buoyant Jaguar would be such a good story. I don’t know if selling £125,000 EVs is going to work, but the company has to try something.
Because that’s the big thing – status quo isn’t an option for Jaguar, because its cars haven’t been selling. The E-Pace was off the pace before it even launched; the F-Pace, while decent, is really starting to show its age. And as many people are moving away from saloons and estates, it almost doesn’t matter how likeable the XF is. Again, that’s an ageing car that would need an all-new replacement, with all the development costs that come with that.
So yes, the strategy is bold, but where else was Jaguar supposed to go? And I’m genuinely rooting for it to succeed. Not totally convinced it will, but rooting for it nonetheless, because an even more genuinely aspirational and newly desirable Jaguar brand would be a good thing for the UK car industry.
How do you think the Jaguar relaunch will go in 2025? Have your say in the comments…
