As we all know, Jaguar’s all-electric performance SUV, the I-Pace, is the 2019 World Car of the Year and European Car of the Year. Surprisingly, this zero-emission vehicle isn’t defined as a car in the Oxford English Dictionary, therefore Jaguar, recently launched a campaign, asking the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) and Oxford Dictionaries to change their official online definitions of the word ‘car’, to include other powertrains such as EVs too. The Jaguar I-Pace is an all-electric SUV and gets a state-of-the-art 90 kW lithium-ion battery, two Jaguar-designed motors and a bespoke aluminium structure, which helps this car propel from 0-100 kmph in just under 4.5 s and provide a range of up to 470 km.
Technically, the Oxford English Dictionary 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.’ , Whereas the current definition of a ‘car’ on Oxford Dictionaries.com, a collection of dictionary websites produced by Oxford University Press (OUP), the publishing house of the University of Oxford, is: ‘A road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine and able to carry a small number of people.’
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So, to solve this partially wrong interpretation and definition of the word ‘car’, Jaguar has submitted a formal application to the OED and OxfordDictionaries.com to have the definitions updated to include additional powertrains, including electric vehicles (EV). While both the Oxford English Dictionary and Oxford Dictionaries review the application, Jaguar is encouraging people to get behind the campaign by asking how the word ‘car’ should be defined. David Browne, head of Jaguar Land Rover’s naming committee, said “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or technology to ensure it is consumer-friendly, so it’s surprising to see that the definition of the car is a little outdated. We are therefore inviting the Oxford English Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionaries to update its online classification to reflect the shift from traditional internal combustion engines towards more sustainable powertrains.”
