A Car by Any Other Definition

The electric-powered Jaguar I-Pace crossover doesn't meet the Oxford English Dictionary definition of a car because it isn’t piston-powered. Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. is asking for an update.

JLR is petitioning the OED and its Lexico online affiliate to update their designations to acknowledge that cars may be propelled by alternative powertrains.

Currently, OED defines a car 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.”

Lexico is even more restrictive. Its listing reads: “A road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine and able to carry a small number of people.”

Other sources are somewhat broader. The Cambridge Dictionary describes a car as “a road vehicle with an engine, four wheels, and seats for a small number of people.” The Collins summation reads “a motor vehicle with room for a small number of passengers.”

OED, which claims to be “the accepted authority on the English language,” says its lexicographers are evaluating JLR’s proposal. The dictionary, which was first published in 1884, includes 600,000 words and 3.5 million quotations that trace the evolution of the English language over the last 1,000 years.

The I-Pace (pictured), Jaguar’s first EV, has won several industry awards since it debuted last summer. In April, it was named World Car of the year by a panel of international automotive journalists.

JLR previously has said it will offer hybrid and all-electric powertrain options in all new Jaguar and Range Rover vehicles in 2020. To help support the OED petition, the company is asking social media users to offer their opinion with the hashtag “RedefineTheCar.”