Audi unveils new logo with major change days after Jaguar slammed over ‘woke’ EV rebrand… and fans are divided again
AUDI has unveiled a brand new logo for its latest EV launch – just days after luxury rival Jaguar was slammed for a major rebrand.
The automaker is hoping to target young drivers with the change, scrapping its iconic four rings logo and replacing them with letters instead.
It comes as the German manufacturer announced a new partnership with SAIC – a Chinese motoring giant.
The collaboration is to sell a separate range of Audi models within the market targeted at a younger crowd.
But the sub-brand’s first reveal shows the models won’t feature Audi’s iconic 1932 rings – and will instead simply have ‘Audi’ written across the front.
China has the largest new car market worldwide with around 26 million models sold in 2023 – and Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi, has shared his excitement for the sub-brand.
He said: “The automotive industry is undergoing the largest transformation in its history.
“With our partnerships in China, we are playing a decisive role in this transformation.”
Users, however, were left divided by the shake-up, taking to Reddit to express their thoughts on the new Audi look in China.
One said: “Honestly? This is hilarious. It’s one of those things that make you believe the simulation is real and the creator is going for maximum silliness.
“Next week: Mercedes launches ‘MERCEDES’.”
Another commented: “China is a different market. There’s an Audi A7 L there. I guess Audi China knows what it is doing.
“In my opinion, it looks exactly like one of those new Chinese electric car brands without personality in their designs.”
Audi’s four rings were originally used by Auto Union and were to represent the four German car brands Audi, Chemnitz, DKW and Horch who were all in an alliance at the time.
The car manufacturer is familiar with the market in China, having sold its cars there since 1988 after beginning a contract with First Automobile Works (FAW).
Here they became the first company to import luxury cars to the brand.
The company pointed out the additional driver-assistance technology in comparison to models in Europe as China is currently enforcing fewer restrictions on autonomous vehicles.
It comes just days after a new classic Jaguar with a roaring petrol engine was unveiled – along with the British firm’s controversial re-brand ahead of its electric revolution.
A monstrous version of Jag’s iconic XJS model has been revealed for the first time, although the marque won’t be the ones making it.
Indeed, Berkshire-based car maker Tom Walkinshaw Racing, known as TWR, is the brains behind this very cool looking XJS Supercat.
The limited-edition beast is a modernised take on the classic sports car, which Jaguar originally produced between 1975 and 1996.
Widely considered one of the most famous Jags, some 115,413 XJS models rolled off production lines in that time – and today it’s considered a mainstay at classic car shows.
“Available to commission” now, the timing of the arrival of TWR’s XJS Supercat couldn’t have come at a more curious period in Jaguar’s 102-year history, as the manufacturer is in the midst of one of motoring history’s most outrageous rebrands.
This month, they began the first phase of their transition by putting a stop to all of their current models being sold in dealerships, with only the F-Pace to be carried over into 2025.
This is because the firm is fully committed to going all-electric by next year, with a handful of brand new models to be released – including a four-door GT that’s to be fully unveiled in concept form next week.
They then sent ripples through the motoring world when they released a new logo along with a bizarre teaser video that received backlash on social media.
What is the FCA investigating and who is eligible for compensation?
By Jacob Jaffa, Motors Reporter
What is being investigated?
The FCA announced in January that it would investigate allegations of “widespread misconduct” related to discretionary commission agreements (DCAs) on car loans.
When you buy a car on finance, you are effectively loaned the value of the car while you pay it off.
These loans have interest payments charged on top of them and are often organised on behalf of lenders by brokers – usually the finance arm of a dealership.
These brokers earn money in the form of commission – a percentage of the interest payments on the loan.
DCAs allowed brokers to, to a certain extent, increase the interest rate on a loan, which in turn increased the amount of commission they received.
The practice was banned by the FCA in 2021.
Who is eligible for compensation?
The FCA estimates that around 40% of car deals may have been affected before 2021.
There are two criteria you must meet to have a chance at receiving compensation.
First, you must be complaining in relation to a finance deal on a motor vehicle (including cars, vans, motorbikes and motorhomes) that was agreed before January 28 2021.
Second, you must have bought the vehicle through a mechanism like Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) or Hire Purchase (HP), which make up the majority of finance deals and mean you own the vehicle at the end of the agreement.
Drivers who leased a car through something like a Personal Contract Hire, where you give the car back at the end of the lease, are not eligible.