Jaguar‘s new Type 01 electric grand tourer is entering a shrinking market, and its business case should not depend on big volumes, according to Marc Winterhoff, who ran Lucid as Interim CEO for over a year.
“Based on my experience in the business of selling luxury EVs, I assume, and sincerely hope, that the Type 01 business case doesn’t rely on big volumes,” Winterhoff wrote in a LinkedIn post on Thursday.
“The market for $130k+ sedans was never the biggest segment and has shrunk over the last couple of years,” he wrote.
It is harder still for luxury EVs, he added, because “the US mood has shifted, and the Chinese market for Western luxury EVs has all but evaporated just over the past 1.5 years.”
Jaguar unveiled the Type 01 in New York on Tuesday, priced from £130,000 ($171,800) in the UK.
Its US starting price is $130,500.
Orders open in early 2027, with first deliveries expected in the second half of that year, Jaguar said.
‘Hats Off’
Winterhoff opened his post by listing the criticism the car has drawn online since the reveal.
He cited the design being called “a fridge on wheels,” its 5.2-meter length, the lack of a rear window, a four-seat cabin divided by a central spine, its EV-only powertrain “at a time when the Zeitgeist in the US has shifted,” the price and Jaguar’s “Copy Nothing” campaign.
“Personally, the boxy design is not my preference, and I wasn’t a fan of the initial campaign either,” he wrote.
“It drew more ridicule rather than desirability to the brand than it needed to,” he added.
“Still, hats off. This brand reset is bold. It takes courage.”
Jaguar launched the “Copy Nothing” campaign in November 2024, when it presented its rebrand as an electric-only luxury marque.
The Type 00 concept that previewed the Type 01 was shown the following month in bright pink and became the focus of criticism of the relaunch.
Jaguar describes the Type 01 as a four-door, four-seat grand tourer with a floating center console it calls a “spine,” and the car is more than 5.2 meters long.
It uses digital mirrors in place of a rear window. The model’s three electric motors produce 1,015 horsepower, and Jaguar quotes an EPA range of 400 miles.
Top speed is 150 mph, and curb weight is more than 5,500 pounds.
Peak charging power is 350 kW, which Jaguar says adds 200 miles of range in 13 minutes. Jaguar’s new model will be built in Solihull, England.
A Statement Product
“I read the Type 01 as an initial statement product for the brand reset, and hope that Type 02 and 03 follow in short succession in segments that drive real volume,” Winterhoff wrote.
Jaguar has called the Type 01 the beginning of a new generation of its vehicles.
Winterhoff argued that specifications and looks do not decide luxury purchases.
“Impressive specs are a hygiene factor, not a differentiator,” he wrote.
Luxury cars are not necessarily bought for beauty either, he wrote, asking: “Otherwise, why is the G-Wagon selling like hot cakes?”
“Luxury is mainly bought on emotion and desirability, which makes brand perception everything,” he wrote.
“My hope is that the Jaguar team has identified a clear and sizable customer segment this reset speaks to,” he added. “Time will tell.”
Jaguar opened a brand store in London’s Knightsbridge this week, one of a small number of standalone stores it plans as part of the relaunch.
Lucid’s Six-Figure Air
Lucid also sells sedans above $100,000. The 2027 Air Grand Touring starts at $114,900, and the Air Sapphire costs $249,000 fully equipped, according to Lucid’s website.
The Air Pure and Air Touring start at $70,900 and $79,900.
The Grand Touring has 819 horsepower and a projected range of up to 512 miles, while the Sapphire has 1,234 horsepower, according to Lucid.
The Air is 195.9 inches long, or about 4.98 meters, according to Lucid. The premium brand delivered 3,806 vehicles in the third quarter, down 6.7% from a year earlier, and built 2,954.
The company did not give figures by model.
Winterhoff at Lucid
Winterhoff joined Lucid as its first Chief Operating Officer on December 4, 2023.
He became Interim CEO in February 2025, when Peter Rawlinson left his role, and held the post until Silvio Napoli took over as permanent CEO on June 1.
He then returned to the COO role, but left the company on June 22, when Lucid eliminated the position, as exclusively reported by EV.
“Mr. Winterhoff is eligible to receive severance benefits under the Company’s Executive Severance Plan, subject to the terms and conditions thereof,” Lucid said at the time.
Before Lucid, he was a senior partner at consultancy Roland Berger from 2011 to 2023, after more than a decade at Arthur D. Little.
