Jaguar unveils its all-electric Type 01 GT at £120,000 following controversial rebrand
Jaguar has lifted the curtain on the Type 01, its first all-electric vehicle marking a dramatic shift for the 90-year-old British manufacturer. The £120,000 luxury grand tourer was unveiled in New York following a controversial rebrand that saw the company cease all petrol and diesel production for a year.
The launch represents a high-stakes gamble for Jaguar, which has seen sales plummet from 180,833 vehicles globally in 2018 to just 33,000 in 2024 – an 82 per cent collapse over six years. On 19 December 2025, the last combustion-engined Jaguar, an F-Pace SVR, rolled off the production line at Solihull, ending nine decades of internal combustion engine manufacturing.
Managing director Rawdon Glover told the Daily Mail that Jaguar expects to retain only 15 per cent of its existing customer base, with 78 per cent of Type 01 buyers anticipated to be new to the brand. The company is deliberately accepting an 85 per cent customer loss as part of its repositioning towards younger, urban luxury buyers.
"Jaguar was absolutely at a crossroads. We realised we needed to make some really big decisions about where we went next with the brand. Our client base was shrinking and ageing. That's not a great combination."
The backlash and the rebrand
The unveiling follows nearly two years of intense scrutiny triggered by Jaguar's November 2024 advertising campaign, created by Accenture Song and JLR's in-house agency Spark44. The adverts featured fashion models in bright couture with slogans including 'Copy Nothing' and 'Delete Ordinary' but conspicuously contained no cars.
Critics including Elon Musk, Nigel Farage and US President Donald Trump condemned the campaign. Trump labelled the rebrand "seriously woke" and a "total disaster" that left Jaguar in "absolute turmoil."
Gerry McGovern, the former chief creative officer who fronted the rebrand launch, later admitted he "didn't even know what wokeism meant at the time." Jaguar subsequently scrapped planned follow-up communications as the controversy intensified.
The production pause had dramatic commercial consequences. In April 2025, Jaguar sold just 49 vehicles across all European markets, according to European Automobile Manufacturers' Association data – a 97.5 per cent decline from the 1,961 cars sold in the same month the previous year.
Performance and specifications
The Type 01 stretches 5.2 metres in length and stands just 1.4 metres tall. At its heart sits a 118kWh usable battery capacity powering three electric motors – two at the rear and one at the front – producing a combined 1,015 horsepower and 1,035 Newton metres of torque.
The four-wheel-drive system propels the Type 01 from standstill to 62mph in 3.2 seconds. Even more impressive is its mid-range acceleration, covering 62mph to 112mph in just four seconds, reflecting Jaguar's emphasis on "power in reserve."
Range stands at 450 miles under official WLTP testing, with Jaguar claiming 400 miles in real-world conditions and 320 miles at sustained motorway speeds. The 850-volt charging architecture allows the battery to add 200 miles of range in 13 minutes at capable charging stations.
With a drag coefficient of 0.23Cd, the Type 01 is the most aerodynamic Jaguar ever produced, surpassing even the F-Type Coupé's 0.34Cd figure.
Design and interior
The Type 01's polarising design features a slab-fronted grille, narrow headlights and frameless windows with no rear window. Standard-fit 23-inch wheels account for more than half the car's total height, creating a hunkered-down appearance.
A standout feature is the "Impossible Panel" – a three-metre section of bodywork above the rear wheels where aluminium panels meet at three different angles, requiring Jaguar to develop a bespoke body press for its manufacture.
Inside, a 24-inch OLED display stretches from behind the steering wheel to the dashboard centre. The cabin features minimalist seats and plush fabrics, with a roof-mounted camera feeding a rearview display to the dashboard. A soundbar integrated into the dashboard eliminates the need for door speakers.
The boot offers 450 litres of storage space, with design elements echoing the classic E-Type's stowage area.
Production and market positioning
The Type 01 will be built at Jaguar's flagship 300-acre Solihull facility, which has produced Land Rovers since 1948 and welcomed Jaguar production in 2015 with the XE model. Annual production volumes have not been disclosed but will be significantly lower than previous petrol models, despite 50,000 people having already registered interest.
Jaguar's repositioning targets the luxury electric vehicle market, valued at approximately £170 billion in 2026 and projected to grow to between £380 billion and £950 billion by 2035, depending on market forecasts.
Glover acknowledged the design will not appeal to everyone. "I am worldly enough to know that for some people it's perhaps too bold. And that's OK," he said, adding that the car aims "to appeal to a target audience" of younger urban buyers "who want to make a strong statement about themselves."
Customers can order the Type 01 from today, with first UK deliveries expected around mid-2027. Prices are anticipated to start between £120,000 and £140,000, with higher specifications exceeding £150,000 – roughly double the average price of Jaguar's previous combustion-engined models.
