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Jaguar boss hits out at ‘vile hatred and intolerance’ from critics of controversial relaunch

  • Jaguar boss disappointed by ‘vile hatred and intolerance’ over new advert
  • Clip has prompted a backlash online with Elon Musk among those to chime in
  • Rawdon Glover insists that overall response has been ‘very positive’

Time 7:56 am, November 25, 2024

The boss of Jaguar has hit out at the response to the brand’s controversial re-launch, accusing some critics of ‘vile hatred and intolerance’.

Rawdon Glover, Jaguar managing director, says that the much-debated 30-second clip, first posted last week, was aimed at trying to attract a new customer base to the historic brand.

He also insisted that the marque is not going ‘woke’ amid criticism from the likes of Elon Musk and Nigel Farage, the latter of whom said he hoped the whole company would now go bust.


‘If we play in the same way that everybody else does we’ll just get drowned out,’ Glover told the Financial Times.

‘So we shouldn’t turn up like an auto brand. We need to re-establish our brand and at a completely different price point so we need to act differently.

‘We don’t want to necessarily leave all of our customers behind. But we do need to attract a new customer base.’


Despite the criticism, Glover says the overall  response to the campaign has been ‘very positive’ but he did express disappointment in the ‘vile hatred and intolerance’ in the comments towards those featured in the video.

More Jaguar

Car Dealer reported last week that following the re-brand, Jaguar is expecting to hold on to just 15% of its current clients as it moves towards being an electric-only brand.

Three new cars, all costing more than £100,000, will be launched from 2026 and sold from just 20 showrooms in the UK – down from 83.

On X, where owner Elon Musk asked if the brand sold cars, Jaguar’s post has been viewed 97m times.

Jaguar responded by inviting Musk to its next car’s unveiling on December 2 in Miami for a ‘cuppa’. He didn’t reply.

Jack Williams's avatar

Jack joined the Car Dealer team in 2021 as a staff writer. He previously worked as a national newspaper journalist for BNPS Press Agency. He has provided news and motoring stories for a number of national publications including The Sun, The Times and The Daily Mirror.



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