Jaguar Developing SUV, Hybrids and Audi A5 Rival

13 years, 8 months ago - 11 April 2011

Jaguar is developing an SUV that should hit showrooms in four years. Pitched at the upper end of the market, it will likely compete with the Porsche Cayenne, BMW X5, Mercedes ML and sister company Land Rover's Range Rover and Range Rover Sport. The all-new model is at the full-size clay-model stage, although design freeze is still some way off.

The Jaguar SUV will feature a lightweight aluminium structure and share some hardware with high-end Range Rovers, although Jaguar will be anxious to ensure that the car has its own distinctive character and road behaviour. So expect an SUV very much oriented toward highway rather than off-road use, and a dynamic character to challenge the more sporting X5 and Cayenne.

Before the SUV, Jaguar will launch a model to compete at the upper end of the segment occupied by the BMW 3 Series. Effectively replacing the discontinued X-Type and slotting below the XF, it will likely feature a fifth door and coupelike styling, while providing decent room for four adults.

However, Jaguar may yet offer it with four doors and a conventional trunk. According to some insiders, the arrival of two high-end five-door Sportback Audis, in the shape of the A5 and A7, has diminished the novelty of offering a five-door Jag hatch. So there may be a last-minute switch to a standard trunk arrangement, although the company does not have long to decide before the tooling is ordered.

The addition of this model should improve Jaguar's share of the premium-car market. While it holds a 16 percent slice in the U.K., the share is just 5 percent in the U.S., which is why it also wants to launch an SUV.

Filling smaller but important niches is what introducing a four-wheel-drive XJ sedan is about. Although 75 percent of models sold in this class in the U.S. are two-wheel drive, some 70 percent of Jaguar's sales are made in the snow-belt states, where all-weather capability is vital.

Expect all-wheel-drive versions of the XJ in two years, although the XF may not get the system until the next-generation version arrives mid-decade.

Before that will come the much-anticipated Jaguar sports car, which many believe will be a spiritual successor to the legendary 1961 XKE. Out in 2012, insiders say that this car has no direct rivals, being positioned outside of the Porsche Boxster/BMW Z4/Mercedes SLK segment, and apart from Jaguar's own XK coupe and convertible.

These programs and many others, including new hybrid derivatives, are making this the busiest period Jaguar has ever seen in terms of new product development, say insiders, with Indian owner Tata Motors keen to broaden the scope of the British marque's offering.

As marketing boss Adrian Hallmark puts it, Jaguar needs to "unlock the potential of the brand. We are playing catch-up."