Jaguar's Cringeworthy Rebrand Forgets That The Logo Was Never The Problem

Apropos of nothing, Jaguar just relaunched its brand. "FEARLESS. EXUBERANT. COMPELLING" are the adjectives that preface Jaguar's announcement about its reimagining. Those adjectives are, of course, paired with a new logo that appears to mainly be a font change. 

With the relaunch only taking place today, it's still far too early to tell what this will mean in the long term for Jaguar when it comes to new models, its aging lineup, and the like. However, the brand's new artsy logo — not to mention the hubbub Jaguar is making around it — suggests that the automaker is probably focusing on the wrong thing.

Given the vastness of the internet, there is likely a subset of people who, even if not entirely upset about the font and logo choices by Jaguar of old, are nonetheless delighted that the automaker is heading towards a new stylistic direction. Whether that crowd was actually purchasing Jaguar cars in any number, or indeed even considering doing so, is unclear. What seems more obvious, meanwhile, is that there's a far larger contingent of people who are disappointed in Jaguar's automotive offerings, and far more so than a mere logo. 

As it stands, Jaguar offers five vehicles for sale in the U.S. market: the F-Pace and E-Pace SUVS, the I-Pace EV, the F-Type sports car, and the XF sedan. Star of the bunch is the frankly great F-Type – and so, in an act of unsurprising irony, Jaguar has decided to kill it — but beyond that the brand's lineup is the dictionary definition of stale. 

The XF sedan hasn't been updated in any meaningful capacity since 2020, and is currently only offered with a dreary turbo-four engine. From a naming standpoint, the E-Pace and F-Pace SUVs are confusing, and neither offers anything revolutionary over competing luxury SUVs from brands like BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus. 

The only "modern" part of Jaguar's 2024 lineup is the I-Pace EV, recently given a moderate refresh but still much akin to a car you could buy in 2018. With a starting price of $72,500 and an electric range of 246 miles, it's not only completely outclassed by EVs like the BMW iX or Mercedes' EQE, it's positively dwarfed by non-luxury brand EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Ford Mustang Mach-E, or even the Tesla Model Y, which are all available with a much longer range and cost considerably less. 

Jaguar doesn't need a new logo, it needs a new mindset entirely. Instead of throwing out a goofy, post-modern tech-bro aesthetic that's more suited to companies that drop ship AI-powered vacuum cleaners, Jaguar should have done what it — ostensibly — does as an automaker, and that is make a new car. Instead we get a branding exercise and the tease of a "Design Vision Concept" that Jaguar will debut on December 2nd, during Miami Art Week. 

The stakes for that are undoubtedly high, and Jaguar clearly knows how to make a striking concept, but we've been burned before by automakers who show off beautiful design studies and then bring something barely related to market. Yes, Cadillac, we're talking about you.

Arguably most depressing is the fact that, as marques go, Jaguar isn't exactly short either of heritage or an audience that wants it to succeed. Jaguar should focus on what people know — and love — the brand for: wild sports cars like the V8-powered F-Type, and big expressions of luxury like the XJ of yesteryear. At best, Jaguar's rebranding efforts will get ridiculed online while the automaker struggles to retain some legitimacy on a botched launch of an all-electrified lineup. At worst, the brand's new font choice will signal an embarrassing end, while it fades into obscurity as a formerly-great car company that forgot what made it that way in the first place.