The aim is to take market share from BMW and Mercedes in Germany and Toyota' Lexus marque in Japan, the company said. "We are always looking at improving our position in all our markets. But these are two big, key markets where we intend to do even more--improving sales and penetration," a spokesman said, adding that the project was the brainchild of new managing director Jonathan Browning.

Germany and Japan are Jaguar's third and fourth biggest markets respectively, behind the US and Britain. From January to July this year, Jaguar sold 3,600 cars in Germany, compared with 4,000 in 1998 and 1,150 in Japan, where subdued sales can be attributed to the Asian crisis and the Japanese recession. Sales globally have been helped by the April launch of the new S-type model. Continental sales of Jaguars doubled in July compared with the same month last year, helped by the popularity of the S-type.

Jaguar hopes the X-400 Baby Jag, to be launched in 2001, will bring total sales up from 50,000 to 2,00,000 cars a year.