Jaguar sales in Europe plunged a shocking 97.5% following a botched rebrand that included a commercial featuring men in skirts to announce its upcoming pivot toward an all-electric fleet — but the cars have yet to arrive at dealerships.
The luxury British automaker registered just 49 vehicles in Europe in April, compared with 1,961 vehicles in the same month last year, according to data from the European Automobile Manfucaturers’ Association.
Sales between January and April plummeted 75.1%, with just 2,665 cars sold across the continent.
\The stunning decline comes after Jaguar rolled out a controversial ad last November that featured non-binary models wearing a rainbow of colors with slogans like “Copy Nothing” and “Live Vivid” — but exluded any images of its sleek sports cars as it touted its transition to a fully electrical, ultra-luxury company.
The uproar over the “woke” ads was likened to Bud Light’s bizarre 2023 partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which led to a boycott of America’s best-selling beer and severely damaged the brand.
However, the collapse in sales can mostly be attributed to the delay in releasing its flagship model, a four-door GT. The EV, expected to cost around $200,000 won’t be out until late 2025, according to India-based The Economic Times.
Making matters worse is that the company has effectively “gone dormant” this year as it phased out all of its gas and diesel-powered models ahead, leaving dealerships empty, Bloomberg reported.
The rest of its EVs, which were a lightning rod for President Trump during his 2024 election campaign, are set to go on sale by next summer at the earliest, according to Bloomberg
The Post reached out to Jaguar for comment.
Jaguar’s EV pivot and ad campaign was seemingly intended to attract younger customers, but it instead drew sharp criticism from industry experts, dealers, and longtime fans as the iconic company failed to halt a slide in sales.
The automaker sold just over 180,000 units worldwide in 2018, but that figure shrank to just under 27,000 last year.
Jaguar was once owned by Ford, but the Detroit-based firm sold the brand and its sister company, Land Rover, to India’s Tata Motors in 2008 for $2.3 billion.
Ford bought Jaguar for $2.5 billion in 1989, but it never made a profit. It later acquired SUV manufacturer Land Rover for $2.7 billion in 2000.
Credit: Source link
