Jaguar, the iconic British luxury automaker now owned by India’s Tata Motors (NSE: TATAMOTORS), has once again found itself at the center of controversy, and this time, investors are reacting.
The fallout began with Jaguar’s polarizing “Copy Nothing” rebrand campaign, which aired on November 19, 2024, sparking widespread backlash on X (formerly Twitter).
While intended to reposition Jaguar as a forward-thinking luxury brand, critics labeled the ad as “woke,” questioning whether the brand had lost touch with its core audience. Even Elon Musk took a jab, asking bluntly, “Do you sell cars?”
The backlash has had teeth. Tata Motors’ stock, which traded at 783.20 INR ($9.38) on November 19 when the ad launched, has since fallen to 649.70 INR ($7.78) as of August 1, 2025, a decline of nearly 17%, equating to a market cap loss of roughly $7 billion, erasing billions in shareholder value and underscoring how Jaguar’s identity crisis has weighed on its parent company.
Though Jaguar represents only a fraction of Tata Motors’ business, the controversy surrounding the rebrand and Jaguar’s collapsing sales, which plunged an astonishing 97.5% in April, with just 49 cars sold compared to 1,961 a year earlier has done little to instill confidence.
Jaguar Land Rover CEO announces retirement
On July 31, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced that CEO Adrian Mardell, a 35-year veteran of the company, will retire at the end of 2025. Mardell, who was appointed CEO in 2022, played a central role in Jaguar’s attempt to redefine its identity but now exits amid what appears to be one of the most turbulent chapters in the company’s history. The automaker also plans to cut 500 management jobs as part of a restructuring effort.
The contrast with other recent campaigns could not be starker. American Eagle’s “Good Jeans” campaign featuring Sydney Sweeney sent AEO stock soaring 18% and generated an estimated £50 million in free media exposure, translating into a £150–300 million bump in market capitalization. Jaguar’s rebrand, on the other hand, appears to have achieved the opposite: collapsing sales, investor backlash, and a brand image crisis.
While it’s worth noting that Jaguar is only one part of Tata Motors’ diversified automotive empire, the “Copy Nothing” saga serves as a stark reminder of how high the stakes are when heritage brands gamble on identity-shifting campaigns in the age of viral outrage.
