A new small sized salon that would fit into the XF model line up from Jaguar is in the making, something that has been confirmed by the company itself.
Pricing of the car is expected to be in the range of about £28,000 ex showroom and with the current exchange rates.
As per Jaguar’s Global Brand Director, Adrian Hallmark, there is a huge market available for the sub -£30,000 car. He estimates the market to be four times that of the saloon that is priced above -£30,000. It is this factor alone that makes the new sub – £30,000 model a necessity above everything else.
By size the car would have sufficient space to hold five adults even though it would be slightly smaller than the XF saloon model. The platform around which the car would be built has not yet been revealed, but being a replacement for the XF model there are chances of the car being built around the aluminum platform.
There is also an all wheel drive variant of the XJ salon under development as confirmed by sources in Jaguar. The launch is expected to be in 24 months time. This may coincide with the mild make over for the Jaguar’s flagship saloon.
The number of cars with all wheel drive functionality that ply the roads in the US in its Northern regions which are Snowbelt states is about 70 percent of the total cars. The ratio is 20 percent in the other regions of the US. It is in the northern belt that Jaguar has always enjoyed a very strong presence.
The new move by Jaguar is intended to make a niche for itself in the regions where it yet lags. With a four-cylinder diesel XF saloon being launched there is a big chance of Jaguar making a mark in the market where 49 percent of the car sales that take place are of four cylinder diesel models. The balance 60 percent cars of the 5-series are having four pot diesel engines.
The market share that Jaguar today has in the different automotive markets of the world are 16 percent in the UK, 5 percent in the US, two percent in Europe and one percent in China.
There is going to be a 3.0 litre petrol V6 version of the XJ that Jaguar plans to launch in the Chinese market very soon. Show room price of the car with tax inclusive would be £200,000, whereas with identical specifications the new V6 model would come at £100,000.
Source: autocar
