From Tokyo, Japan and Changsha, China – this is Down to Business English. With your hosts Skip Montreux and Dez Morgan. Hi Dez. Good to be back with you. Hi Skip. How are you? I’m fine, thank you very much. You know, the last time we spoke you had just returned from Scotland. That’s a little while ago now. You know, we didn’t really talk much about your trip. No, we didn’t. I guess the topic we were reporting on that day gave us a lot to talk about. It did. So anyway, how was your trip?
Well, on the personal side, it was fine. My family is fine, all my friends are fine, the meetings I attended at my home university were all fine. Just “fine”? You don’t sound very enthusiastic. Well… something felt a bit off. Off? Off how? It’s hard to explain. It just felt like the UK has changed somehow. Oh really. In what way? This is just my personal take on it, but the overall public mood felt … a bit depressed. Depressed? Depressed over what? I don’t know.
Perhaps it was the steady stream of gloomy government reports coming out all the time about how bad things are. Yeah, if all you hear is bad news, it becomes a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy. I suppose. But whatever the reason, the UK is definitely going through some changes. What about the business side of things? Is that ‘depressed’ mood spilling over into industry? I would say so.
In fact, it’s a change — a radical change — at one of Britain’s heritage brands that I want to talk about today. A heritage brand? Meaning a company with deep British roots and a long tradition? Exactly. A quintessential British company. Like Bentley or Rolls-Royce? You’re in the right industry, but the brand I’m thinking of isn’t quite as expensive as those two. That pretty much leaves just Land Rover and Jaguar.
Well guessed, Skip. And it’s the second of those two — Jaguar — that will be the focus of my report today. Mm. Beautiful cars. They are. So, let’s do it. Let’s get D2B… Down to Business with Jaguar. What’s changing with the iconic marque, and how people are reacting to those changes. You are right about Jaguar being a heritage brand. When I hear the name Jaguar, I immediately think of England. As you should. Jaguar’s British roots go back over 100 years.
And believe it or not, the company did not start out as a carmaker. Let me guess. They made bicycles. You’re not far off, Skip. They made sidecars for motorcycles. Motorcycle sidecars — really? William Lyons and William Walmsley founded the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, and over time they branched out into designing bodies for small cars. Huh. That is an interesting piece of trivia. It is.
Over time they evolved from making just the body of a car to making their own vehicles under the name SS Cars. And when did the Jaguar name start being used? In 1935, when they released the SS Jaguar 2.5 litre. It was also around that time that they introduced the now-famous leaping cat logo. Is that what it’s called? The leaping cat. I didn’t even know it had a name. Oh, it sure does.
It was designed by an artist and sculptor by the name of F. Gordon Crosby and it’s meant to symbolize grace, performance, power, and the ambition to leap forward. Well, it certainly did the trick. I think most people consider the classic Jaguar cars to meet that description. The most legendary Jaguar model is probably the E-Type, introduced in 1961. It was so stunning that even Enzo Ferrari himself called it “the most beautiful car ever made.”
The founder of Ferrari, an Italian car brand, calling a British car beautiful?! That is certainly a compliment. That was though, a long time ago and in another era. The brand isn’t what it used to be, and that is what I want to focus on today — the changes at Jaguar in recent history. Okay. So, what can you tell us about that? Back in 2008, Tata Motors, the Indian automotive giant, acquired Jaguar and Land Rover. They combined the two and created what we know now as Jaguar Land Rover, or JLR.
Well, JLR — that is much easier to say than Jaguar Land Rover. It is. With 33,000 employees and sales of around 430,000 units in fiscal 2024-25, JLR is the UK’s biggest automaker. And those figures are for both companies combined? Yes. However, it’s important to note that even though they are under the same umbrella company, they are run as two separate entities. So the issue you are going to discuss only affects Jaguar, not Land Rover. That’s correct.
So, what is the issue with Jaguar specifically? There are a few issues. Firstly, in 2021, JLR announced that Jaguar would be transitioning their entire lineup from gas engines to electric — by the end of 2025. By the end of this year — 2025!? That’s pretty sudden. I don’t think other luxury brands are doing this quite so quickly. You’re right, Skip. Mercedes-Benz, one of JLR’s main competitors, originally had a plan to go all-electric by 2030.
But just last year, they announced that they were planning to soften this approach and react to market demands. Well, that sounds like a more measured approach. What about Jaguar’s other competitors? According to a report in Car and Driver last year, BMW is expected to continue offering traditional gas-powered cars while at the same time developing its lineup of electric models until at least 2035. Again, a more flexible approach. Is Car and Driver an authority on cars? Are you kidding me?
It’s considered one of the most influential sources of automotive media. They have a huge influence on buyers and manufacturers alike. Dez, I live in Tokyo. Driving is not a big part of my lifestyle. Well, that would explain it then. In any case, it seems BMW and Mercedes-Benz are both taking a flexible approach to transitioning to electric vehicles. I would agree. However, Jaguar’s abrupt change to an all-electric lineup is only the beginning of Jaguar’s adventurous thinking.
Oh. What else has Jaguar changed? That elegant leaping cat logo that we were talking about earlier has undergone an incredible transformation. No way, really? How has it been changed? Previously, the cat figure stood alone, and the name ‘Jaguar’ was written in a sharp, strong, serif-style font. Which was instantly recognizable. But now, the leaping cat is encased in a modern barcode-like frame, and the font used for the name has been changed to a softer, rounded font.
It’s still recognizable, but it’s very different from Jaguar’s previous branding. Okay, so Jaguar has made some design-choice changes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. True. But this is where things get decidedly weird. Last December, Jaguar released a concept ad — without having a car in it. An advert for a car without featuring an actual car? A little strange I suppose. So, if there was no car, what was in the commercial?
It was a 30-second video of fashion models, dressed in brightly colored, futuristic-looking outfits walking across what looked like some sort of Martian landscape. Yeah, that does sound strange. And all through the ad were slogans flashing on the screen. Oh, what did the slogans say? Things like Live Vivid, Delete Ordinary, Create Exuberance, Break Moulds, Copy Nothing. And then it ends with the word Jaguar on the screen in that new, softer font. Yeah, that … that sounds very avant-garde.
Yeah well, whatever it was it certainly wasn’t very British. And how it ... did that go down with the public? As you can imagine, people were somewhat confused. Until now, Jaguar has been a fairly conservative sports and luxury car brand. Now, out of nowhere, it’s trying to rebrand itself to appeal to a totally different market. A radical rebrand at that. Never easy. Jaguar CEO, Rawdon Glover defended the ad though.
He said that if Jaguar played in the same way that other auto brands do, they would just be drowned out. But they are an auto brand, aren’t they? They are, and that was exactly what Tesla CEO and fellow automaker, Elon Musk pointed out on X. In fact Musk and Glover had a bit of a snarky exchange over it. Oh really? What did Musk say? He asked one simple question: “Do you sell cars?”. And it sort of went on from there.
Typical Musk. He is known for making comments like that about companies who promote themselves as being, what he regards as, ‘woke’. It definitely had that ‘woke’ feel to it. But it’s not a bad question to ask. Is Jaguar still a car company? Have we seen any of these new electric models? Yes, Jaguar has released a prototype and concept pictures of the Type 00, which is the base concept for all the models in their electric lineup. Wait a minute. All they have is a prototype and concept pictures?!
I thought you said they were going to be launching these at the end of 2025. Yes, I did say that. But as these things go, there have been delays. They originally targeted late 2025, but that’s been pushed back to mid-2026 or even early 2027. Okay. So, what does this concept car look like? It’s a radical change from past Jaguars. Based on what it looks like, and if the three models that follow are without too many changes, I think it’s fair to say Jaguar’s new car design will be polarizing.
Meaning, some people will love it … and others will absolutely hate it. When the concept photo was first released, Gerry McGovern JLR’s chief creative officer warned journalists “You will feel uncomfortable — and that's OK.” He then went on to show pictures of the Type 00 in bright blue and purple, two non-traditional Jaguar colors. It’s great to try and appeal to new customers, but it’s also a bit risky. It seems as though Jaguar might end up alienating its core customer base.
It rather does, doesn’t it. James Ramsden, director of one of London’s most well-known design agencies, summed up the rebrand succinctly. He told The Guardian newspaper that it was a ‘shame’ that Jaguar had walked away from one of the most iconic, treasured, and beautiful brand designs in generations. That is a pretty strong comment against the new designs. He also said that if Jaguar was going to ‘break the mould’, they’d better have a great lineup of new cars, full of innovation.
Which we won’t know until the new models are actually on the market. The first model of the new lineup, the Saloon, is expected by summer next year so let’s wait and see if this was a bold move on Jaguar’s part or a case of creative suicide. And at the end of the day, that is one of the hardest things in business — keeping your loyal customers while trying to attract new ones. And on that note, I think it’s time for us to get D2V … Down to Vocabulary.
The first word on our D2V list today is the adjective ‘radical’. Something that is radical is extremely different from what existed before. ‘Radical’ collocates with many nouns. You can have a radical idea, propose a radical design, or come up with a radical solution to a problem. But it’s especially common when talking about a change. A radical change isn’t small or slow. It’s a change that moves in a completely new direction.
In the introduction to today’s episode, Dez told us he would be reporting on a radical change happening to a British heritage brand. And then he went on to explain how Jaguar was making radical changes to its brand image and design. In other words, Jaguar’s new designs are extremely different from their traditional look. Can you give us another example using ‘radical’ in a business situation? Sure can. In a B2B setting, you might hear something like, “Our company is considering a
radical change to our pricing model.” This means the company is thinking about charging for their product or service in a completely different way. Great example. What’s the next word on our list? Next we have the idiom ‘a measured approach’. A measured approach means doing something carefully and thoughtfully — not too fast and not too extreme. It is almost the opposite of doing something radically.
If you take a measured approach, you consider the risks, think through your options, and move forward step by step. In today’s episode, Skip used this expression when talking about Mercedes-Benz. After I explained that Mercedes had announced they would go fully electric by 2030, Skip said it sounded like a more measured approach. In simpler terms, Mercedes isn’t rushing into the EV market.
Unlike Jaguar, Mercedes is taking their time and carefully making decisions according to what they see happening in the market. Can you give us another example using ‘a measured approach’ in a business setting, Skip? Sure. As you know, AI is everywhere these days. Most Fortune 500 companies are in a rush to implement it in their organization. Yeah, there seems to be a lot of pressure to adopt AI quickly.
Well, one company that is taking a measured approach to AI is the global investment bank, Goldman Sachs. They are choosing to move slowly, focusing on human oversight rather than quickly replacing workers with AI. Nice example. Thanks. Moving on, our next and final word on the D2V list today is the phrase to be an authority on something. If someone is an authority on something, it means they are an expert in that subject.
People trust what they say because they have deep knowledge and experience. Exactly. When you call someone an authority on something, you’re saying they really know the topic well. We can talk about an authority on branding, an authority on leadership, or even an authority on the financial markets. In today’s episode, Dez said that Car and Driver magazine is considered an authority on cars and the automotive industry. In other words, Car and Driver is a trusted expert in the automotive field.
They’ve been reviewing cars for a long time, and their opinions influence both buyers and car manufacturers. Dez, I consider you to be an authority on all things British — whisky, football, even cricket. That’s nice of you to say, Skip. But I don’t consider myself to be an authority on all things British anymore as I’ve been out of the country for a long time. But I will still drink a nice glass of single malt once in a while.
Would you like to help Down to Business English reach more people wanting to improve their Business English skills? Follow Down to Business English on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, or any place podcasts are found. Leave a rating and a review and tell everyone how much you enjoy the show. Thanks very much for that report on all the changes Jaguar is currently going through, Dez. It will be very interesting to see how this rebranding works out for them.
My pleasure, Skip. I wish Jaguar all the best, I could be wrong but something tells me this could be a misstep. But who knows. We shall see. D2B Members and Apple Podcast subscribers — the bonus Down to Vocabulary episode for today’s report will be released very soon. In that bonus episode, we will be discussing five additional vocabulary items that we used in today’s report.
These words and phrases are quintessential, to do the trick, an entity, to be drowned out, and to alienate D2B Members, be sure that you have copied the members-only podcast feed URL from your account page on the D2B website, and have pasted it into the podcast app of your choice. That way you won’t miss the Bonus D2V episode. And Apple Podcast subscribers — you don’t need to do anything. The bonus D2V episode will appear automatically in your podcast feed once it’s released.
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