• by Tanya Gazdik , August 19, 2019

Jaguar is urging the Oxford English Dictionary and Oxford Dictionaries to change their official online definitions of the word “car” to include additional powertrains, including electric vehicles. 

The I-Pace, the Jaguar brand’s first all-electric performance SUV, is the 2019 World Car of the Year and European Car of the Year. However, based on its current definition, the zero-emission vehicle isn’t defined as a “car.” The online definition currently only defines a car as being powered by an internal combustion engine. 

The OED, widely regarded as the accepted authority on the English language, defines a car in its online dictionary as: “a road vehicle powered by a motor (usually an internal combustion engine) designed to carry a driver and a small number of passengers, and usually having two front and two rear wheels, esp. for private, commercial, or leisure use.”

Meanwhile, the current definition of a car on Oxford Dictionaries.com, a collection of dictionary websites produced by Oxford University Press, is: “A road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine and able to carry a small number of people.”

To remedy the situation, Jaguar has submitted a formal application to the OED and OxfordDictionaries.com to have the definitions updated. While both entities review the application, Jaguar is encouraging people to get behind the campaign by asking how the word “car” should be defined. Contact Jaguar on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using #RedefineTheCar with your thoughts.

“A lot of time and thought is put into the name of any new vehicle or technology to ensure it is consumer-friendly, so it’s surprising to see that the definition of the car is a little outdated,” says David Browne, head of the Jaguar Land Rover naming committee, in a release.