Jaguar's sales plummeted by more than 97% after its 'woke' advertising campaign

Sales of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the renowned British automaker, recorded a 97.5% drop in the European market, a decline attributed to its failed and controversial marketing strategy with a "woke" approach, according to data revealed by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association.

The figures indicate that in April the company sold only 49 vehicles in Europe, a drastic decrease compared to the 1,961 units sold during the same month of the previous year. In the cumulative total for the first four months of the year, sales fell by 75.1%, reaching just 2,655 cars sold.

According to the New York Post, this commercial collapse occurred after the launch of a controversial advertising campaign in November, where LGBT people were shown wearing multicolored outfits with phrases such as "Copy nothing" and "Live life," but without displaying the brand's characteristic sports cars on screen.

As part of this image transformation, JLR also decided to remove the classic feline from its logo and replace the traditional green color with a range of brighter and more striking tones.

This "woke" announcement from Jaguar had been harshly criticized and canceled on social media, a fact that apparently foreshadowed what could happen to the brand.

In addition to the failed marketing campaign, the collapse in Jaguar Land Rover's sales is also due to the delay in the launch of its new flagship model: a four-door GT with a price of around $200,000 that won't hit the market until the end of 2025, according to The Economic Times.

In November 2024, Bloomberg revealed that the British brand had decided to suspend the sale of new vehicles in the United Kingdom until 2026, the year in which it plans to relaunch its product line exclusively with luxury electric models. Until then, JLR won't supply British dealerships with new cars; instead, the units still in stock will be classified as pre-owned, regardless of whether they have previous use or not.

The company hasn't issued comments in response to criticism over its recent image campaign or about the concerning April figures. According to The Economic Times, Jaguar's global sales fell from 180,833 units in 2018 to just 26,862 in the 2024-2025 period, making the success of its new line of electric vehicles a crucial factor for its future in the industry.