Jaguar XE and XF Could Become One, Report Claims
As Land Rover sails along, happily supported by the popularity of its utility-only lineup, corporate sibling Jaguar isn’t flying high. Neither is the automaker as a whole, financially speaking. Despite fielding its own crossovers, Jag finds itself suffering from the public’s abandonment of passenger cars and a rapidly evolving European marketplace.
On the lower end of the model ladder, sales of the entry level XE and midsize XF aren’t doing well, leading many to speculate about their eventual demise. According to Autocar, Jaguar’s mulling a “radical” solution to the XE/XF problem.
While nothing’s decided at this point, the British publication claims one of the options under consideration is a merging of the two models at the end of their current generation. If greenlit, the new model would launch in 2023.
If that seems like an overly long timeline, just know there’s good reason for Jag to keep its sedans around, regardless of poor sales. JLR CEO Ralf Speth recently told European media that “low-profile” vehicles (cars) are needed to keep the brand in the EU’s good books. Ever-stricter emissions regulations are coming down the pipe, and keeping a number of smaller, more efficient vehicles in its stable will help keep the heat off.
As Jag mulls its product future, rumors abound about an all-electric gambit. This would obviously play better (to some degree) with European audiences than North American ones, though the Jaguar I-Pace has already launched to considerable acclaim. The flagship XJ is expected to go the EV route next year. If the XE and XF merge, expect a fully electric or plug-in hybrid model in their wake, Autocar claims.
This model, like others planned for the Jaguar range, would use the modular, lightweight MLA platform, capable of accomodating a number of propulsion sources.
In the U.S., XE sales fell 28.3 percent in 2018, with XF volume sinking 49.2 percent. The latter model moved 96 units in January.
[Image: Jaguar Land Rover]
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Within 5-years,Jag will be an SUV/CUV company that makes a single sports car, no sedans at all.
JLRs problems are mainly in China as mentioned by Conundrum and by VW single handily destroying the reputation of diesel. In the UK the S type and X type were hated. The S type was viewed a retro pastiche aimed at the US market and the X type was viewed as a Mondeo in drag. Whatever you might think Jaguar can’t abandon its biggest home market by making a car that only appeals in the US to a seemingly small set of people who have come to terms with the fact that even Jaguar aren’t making cars with 70s reliability. The other huge problem Jaguar has got is that the SUV is killing Sedans everywhere. In Europe volume brands are killing their sedan lines for SUVs. The only brands who still make money at this are basically the prestige German marques. So the future is bleak for Jaguar? Er no as it turns out. The I Pace could well be on track to sell 30,000 cars next year. That as it turns out would see Jaguar have a model that’s priced like an XJ but sell at volumes that Jaguar haven’t seen since the XJ hit its peak. Jaguar therefore has no choice but to go all in on electric. The all electric XJ when it arrives could give Jaguar another big boost. The challenge then is to take the XF electric along with their successful F Pace and E Pace. Jaguar are in a much better position than Alfa. They’ve made their mistakes and got their electric car weighed up. Get through the next few years and it could be Land Rover that has the head ache. Just how do you make the ultimate off-roader electric?