Jaguar launches Type 01 EV in New York, targeting younger US buyers

Glover, 58, said Jaguar hopes the Type 01 will appeal to a younger, richer audience than its previous customer base, which he described as 'shrinking and ageing' and made up of 'men in their 50s'. Buyers are likely to be rich, 'urban' and 'very design literate, very technology literate', he said. 'The person making this purchase will be choosing the car because it's a bold choice.'

The car's design features an ultra-long bonnet, low roof and muscular profile, a sharp departure from its predecessor, the F-Type. It is also double the F-Type's starting price of about £62,000. A senior JLR executive close to the Type 01 project described it as the kind of car that makes people stop and ask what its driver has just turned up in.

The launch comes at a critical juncture for parent company Jaguar Land Rover, which has faced falling sales as cheaper Chinese rivals take UK market share. JLR is recovering from a cyber-attack last year that cost the economy an estimated £1.9bn. It recently announced 4,000 job cuts to save £1.7bn over two years, citing 'intense competition and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty'. The Guardian understands Jaguar employees working on the Type 01 programme were offered voluntary redundancy along with the rest of JLR's non-manufacturing workforce.

The Type 01 will go on sale in early 2027, with first deliveries expected in the second half of the year. It produces more than 1,000 horsepower and Jaguar says it will travel up to 400 miles on a single charge. Instead of a rear window, it uses a rear-facing camera where a traditional mirror would be. Glover said putting Jaguar back on a more solid financial footing is 'really important'. Asked whether doubling prices would be effective, he said it was better than 'to toil away as we have done for the last two decades in the volume premium space'.

Range Rover also unveiled its first fully electric model in September, starting at £154,070 compared with £107,530 for its combustion engine predecessor. Waning demand in China, a key market for luxury cars, has hit Jaguar hard. Glover said the Type 01 will not launch in China for 'a couple of years. We've decided just to hold off on that.' He added that China would eventually be 'an important part of the equation' because it is difficult for any car manufacturer to exclude the single largest car market in the world. PB Balaji, JLR's chief executive, has said the parent company will pivot towards North America and target more sales to millionaires and billionaires.

Glover admitted that while the Type 01's launch was in New York, it 'absolutely' could have been in Silicon Valley instead, reflecting the buyer Jaguar is targeting. He recently took a prototype to the offices of Nvidia, the California-based AI company, whose boss, Jensen Huang, had a ride and 'loved it'. The launch follows a controversial rebrand that began with an ad in late 2024 featuring stern-faced models without a car in sight. The ad prompted an online backlash and was followed by the Type 00 concept car, unveiled in 'Miami pink', which Donald Trump called 'woke' while Nigel Farage said Jaguar deserved to go bust. Glover admitted the backlash 'wasn't always easy' but added: 'The reality is we will need to attract a new audience.'

The Type 01 is 2 metres wide, making it wide for British country lanes frequented by Jaguar's old customers, and more than 5.2 metres long. Glover argued that 'there are long cars out there on the market', adding that a Land Rover Defender with a wheel on the back is longer than the Type 01. He claimed the Type 01 has the 'turning circle of a Fiat 500' with its all-wheel steering and is 'incredibly manoeuvrable'.

Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'Jaguar's new EV is a crucial step in JLR's plans to invest over £15bn in the UK, and another big vote of confidence in our world-class automotive industry. This cutting-edge new model being designed, engineered and built in Britain will support thousands of jobs across the West Midlands and North West, and builds on over £1bn of UK automotive investment secured just last month – marking another step forward in our mission to reindustrialise Britain.'