Jaguar unveils new electric car – two years after rebrand backfired | UK News

Jaguar has unveiled its new electric car – two years after the company’s controversial rebrand, and 12 months on from a major cyber attack that halted production. 

The new Type 01 model, revealed at an event in New York on Tuesday, will be manufactured in the UK and can deliver an expected range of up to 450 miles, the company said.

Production is due to begin in 2027 at Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) Solihull site in the West Midlands, with the company’s CEO, PB Balaji, calling it “the beginning of an exciting new era”.

Customers will be able to order the new model from early next year, but the price has not yet been confirmed.

It comes after Jaguar sparked controversy in November 2024 when it revealed a series of dramatic changes ahead of becoming a fully electric brand.

This included a new logo, styled as JaGUar, a redesign of its recognisable “leaper” cat and marketing slogans such as “delete ordinary”, “live vivid” and “copy nothing”.

A video posted by the company on social media at the time prompted further backlash after it featured people wearing brightly coloured clothes, but no vehicles.

Among those to publicly voice their criticism were Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who said: “I predict Jaguar will now go bust. And you know what? They deserve to.”

Elon Musk, the largest individual shareholder in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, asked: “Do you sell cars?”

JLR’s managing director Rawdon Glover told Sky News at the time of the rebrand that the company wanted “to be bold and disruptive”.

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Lost revenue and job cuts

The announcement of the Type 01 model also comes as JLR continues its recovery from a major cyber attack that forced it to halt production last year.

The shutdown lasted for several weeks and cost the manufacturer tens of millions of pounds a day in lost revenue.

Sales have since remained under pressure amid intense competition from cheaper Chinese electric vehicles, while the company has also tackled soaring costs and the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that the production of Jaguar’s new electric car would “support thousands of jobs across the West Midlands and North West”, adding that it would mark “another step forward in our mission to reindustrialise Britain”.

Last month, JLR said it planned to axe 4,000 jobs globally over the next two years, as part of efforts to slash costs by £1.7bn.

The cuts, which the company said were in response to “significant challenges” within the auto industry, are largely expected to impact non-production roles, with the majority of job losses affecting its UK operations.

In a statement, Mr Balaji said: “We recognise this will be difficult news for colleagues affected, and are committed to supporting everyone with care, fairness and respect.”

JLR employs around 40,000 people worldwide, with approximately 34,000 of them based in the UK.