Jaguar is determined to be an all-electric automaker, no matter what. It was recently revealed that the controversial brand killed three upcoming vehicles that would have likely saved Jaguar from all the hate and criticism its faced at the hands of the Type 00 concept because they didn’t fit into its EV-only plans.
Right now, Jaguar isn’t selling any vehicles. And it may be a while until it does. The Type 00 concept, a low-resolution fridge on wheels, was revealed in 2024, and we won’t see its new design until this summer — and it won’t be delivered until 2027.
To violently slash away any hope that former Jaguar fans had left, the carmaker’s former Design Chief, Ian Callum, shared during the Road to Success podcast that the three vehicles had been gutted to make room for the upcoming EV lineup. And these three vehicles were actually cool. Callum said that Jaguar previously intended to release a small XF sedan to compete with the BMW 5 Series and Audi A6. They also had second-generation plans for the F-Pace, the company’s best-selling model. A new F-Type was also apparently in the works. Unfortunately, these were all halted to focus on the Type 00.
Callum worked at Jaguar as the Director of Design for nearly 20 years. He left in 2019, around the time the next-generation, all-electric XJ was “nearly finished.” Another casualty as Jaguar decided to focus on its seemingly doomed Type 00.
The ongoing controversy of the Type 00 concept that Jaguar won’t stop
The Type 00 concept was met with horror. The bubblegum-pink branding, which felt more like a department-store makeup brand commercial, didn’t help. The all lowercase “copy nothing” tagline felt more like a teeny-bopper fashion brand than a luxury vehicle maker. It felt that Jaguar’s legacy and heritage were lost. A carmaker once known for the E-Type, the “most beautiful car ever made,” felt like it was being erased, and the car community was clearly rubbed the wrong way.
But the true terror was the vehicle itself. You’d never know that Jaguar made the sleek, sporty E-Type after seeing this massive, lifeless behemoth roaming the streets. With nearly zero features aside from tiny headlights and some lines across the back, the Type 00 was described as “unmemorable from every angle.” I think I saw a few people compare it to a video game vehicle that wasn’t fully rendered, with many details and styling missing. Despite the bright pink and blue colors, it had a very brutalist appearance, quite different from Jaguar’s most popular models. To put it simply: Ugly.
Apparently, this is not the Type 00’s final form. That will be revealed this summer. However, I’m not sure if that was always the plan or if the redesign is due to the extreme backlash. It was a pretty prominent rumor around December 2025 that Chief Creative Director Gerry McGovern was fired after the Type 00. Autocar reported that McGovern had been pushing hard for Jaguar’s rebrand, including a pivot to the all-electric, expensive, limited-production lineup. Jaguar Land Rover claimed it’s “untrue” that McGovern was fired, but it was also never confirmed if he still worked for the carmaker.
For now, Jaguar is pushing forward with the Type 00. It’s expected to be around $130,000. It’s a very risky move, as the EV market is turning away from luxury vehicles in favor of small, affordable options. And with China dominating the small, affordable EV space, most automakers have given up on electric vehicles entirely. Some are turning to plug-in hybrids (although China is starting to take over in this segment as well), and others are even going back to gas. The competition is too fierce and automakers need solutions as the industry continues to rapidly change.
It’s looking like affordable vehicles are the new answer for many, but Jaguar is not giving up on its six-figure fridge.
