Jaguar Land Rover unveiled its flagship electric model, the Type 01, on Tuesday night in New York. Priced at £130,000 (about $172,000), the car is positioned squarely for affluent technology‑savvy buyers in the United States, a market the company hopes will revitalize its premium image.
Design and performance
The Type 01 marks a stark visual departure from the brand’s previous F‑Type. It features an ultra‑long bonnet, low roofline and a muscular silhouette that stretches over 5.2 metres in length and 2 metres in width. Because of its length, the vehicle will not fit into a standard 4.8‑metre UK parking space. The design also eliminates a traditional rear window, replacing it with a rear‑facing camera. Jaguar claims the powertrain delivers more than 1,000 horsepower and a range of up to 400 miles on a single charge. Despite its size, Glover says the all‑wheel‑steering system gives it a turning circle comparable to a Fiat 500, making it “incredibly manoeuvrable.”
Strategic positioning and financial outlook
Managing director Rawdon Glover, 58, said the vehicle is intended to attract a younger, richer demographic than Jaguar’s historic “men in their 50s” base. He described the ideal buyer as “urban, very design literate, very technology literate” and someone who makes a “bold choice.” The Type 01’s starting price is roughly double that of the outgoing F‑Type, which began at about £62,000. Glover added that doubling prices is preferable to “toil away as we have done for the last two decades in the volume premium space.”
Jaguar’s launch arrives as its parent company grapples with falling sales, intensified competition from lower‑priced Chinese rivals, and the aftermath of a massive cyber‑attack that cost the UK economy an estimated £1.9 billion. In response, JLR announced 4,000 job cuts aimed at saving £1.7 billion over two years, citing “intense competition and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.” The Guardian reported that Jaguar staff working on the Type 01 programme were offered voluntary redundancy alongside other non‑manufacturing employees.
PB Balaji, JLR’s chief executive, has signalled a pivot toward North America, targeting millionaires and billionaires to reverse the company’s fortunes. Glover confirmed that while the launch took place in New York, a Silicon Valley debut would have been equally appropriate, noting a recent prototype visit to Nvidia’s headquarters where CEO Jensen Huang expressed enthusiasm for the car.
Industry and political response
A senior JLR executive described the Type 01 as the sort of vehicle that makes onlookers exclaim, “Fucking hell, what have you just turned up in?” The model also follows a controversial rebrand that began with a late‑2024 advertisement featuring stern‑faced models without a car, sparking online backlash. Subsequent concepts, such as the pink‑hued Type 00, attracted criticism from public figures including former President Donald Trump and politician Nigel Farage.
British Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds praised the EV as a “crucial step” in JLR’s plan to invest over £15 billion in the UK. He highlighted that the car is designed, engineered and built in Britain, supporting thousands of jobs across the West Midlands and North West and building on more than £1 billion of recent UK automotive investment.
The Type 01 will not be launched in China for “a couple of years,” according to Glover, though he acknowledged the market’s long‑term importance as the world’s largest car market. Production is slated to begin in early 2027, with first deliveries expected in the second half of that year.
Helene Elliott is the Lead Science & Space Reporter at News Raise. She reports on aerospace missions, astrophysics discoveries, quantum research, and environmental technology.
