7:36 pm, April 2, 2026
It’s a question the industry and the brand’s fans have been pondering since the relaunch: Was Jaguar’s rebrand genius or a big mistake?
In November 2024 Jaguar unveiled a whole new look, dropping its famous growler logo and releasing a teaser video that went viral.
The backlash that followed it was vicious. Donald Trump waded in on the argument and branded the marketing ‘woke’ and Elon Musk asked if the brand ‘even sold cars’.
Jaguar was the most talked about brand on social media for three solid days after the campaign came out and its teaser video on YouTube attracted thousands of comments.
Now, 18 months on from that explosive event, journalists are getting behind the wheel of camouflaged prototypes of the four door GT car that will soon emerge to lead its charge into Jaguar’s electric future.
Car Dealer has been looking back at that landmark launch – an event that some have called the biggest gamble in automotive history.
We’ve been chatting to new and used Jaguar dealers, enthusiasts, motoring writers, as well as automotive and branding experts for a special series: Jaguar Relaunch: Mistake or Genius?
Today, Car Dealer has published a video investigation – which you can watch at the top of this post – that looks into the huge decisions Jaguar made, the fall-out that followed and why the car maker had to act.
A special three-part podcast series has also been released which features the long-form interviews conducted for the investigation.
In that series we delve deeper into the decisions made at Jaguar.
In episode one, The Journalists’ View, we chat to Daily Mail motoring editor Ray Massey who was a critic of the marketing campaign when it was released. We hear why he felt the campaign missed the mark and why he feels that since that event Jaguar has made a u-turn.
We also chat to Steve Fowler, the former Auto Express and What Car? editor and now electric cars writer at The Independent about why he feels this is a huge gamble for the firm.
Evo editor Stuart Gallagher, Electrifying.com founder Ginny Buckley and Wayne Scott, editor in chief of the Jaguar Enthusiasts Magazine, also give us their opinions on the relaunch.
The first episode has just been released and can be found on your favourite podcast platform.
In episode two, The Controversy, we talk to branding experts including Jon Evans, host of the CMO Uncensored Podcast, Nic Ede, a branding and PR guru, as well as car dealers Peter Smyth, a former Jaguar franchise holder, and used Jaguar dealer Tim Atkinson.
And in the third and final episode, The Insider, we’ll hear from Jaguar’s managing director Rawdon Glover himself. In a detailed interview he speaks about what it was like being inside Jaguar when the controversy broke the internet.
We cover the personal attacks he and his team faced, why Jaguar felt it needed to be so dramatic in the first place and find out whether Gerry McGovern leaving the business will change the direction.
Episodes two and three of our Jaguar Relaunch: Mistake or Genius? podcast will be published over Easter.
You can find the Car Dealer Podcast on Spotify and on Apple Podcasts.
