A new look Jaguar XF, fitted with a smaller 2.2 litre diesel engine, will hit the UK market in the next couple of weeks and it’s possible the sedan will land on Indian shores in the not too distant future. JLR, which has seen one of the most remarkable turnarounds with a profit of ?1,043 million in 2010-11, hopes to be able to speed up deliveries. After all, the XF has been the British car maker?s biggest success story in recent times and continues to bring in a third of the firm’s volumes. In fact, an even smaller Jaguar, intended to replace the X-type, could hit the roads in the next three years, say those in the know. ?The version with the smaller engine is an extension of the XF range and would be competitively priced to give the BMWs and Audis a fight,? a spokesperson for JLR observed who added that the new sedan will be priced at ?30,950 on the road in the UK, versus ?36,950 for the cheapest 3.0 litre diesel sedan.
JLR is expected to launch 12 new refreshed models this year, including XK, sports car, and XJ, top of the line and rather new model. In May, the company announced a sharp increase in capital expenditure to ?1.5 billion annually, for the next few years, from ?1 billion annually. The firm?s business strategy appears to be in a state of transition. JLR has traditionally been sharply focused but it appears to be moving away from pure luxury to a more mass-market strategy, analysts point out. The RR Evoque and a ? baby Jag ?, replacing the X type, are examples of the move as the business strives to attain scale as also showcase technological capabilities ? the Jaguar C-X75, a limited edition supercar is expected to retail at around ?800,000. Indeed, if anyone was perplexed by the fairly steep drop of 40% year-on-year in the volumes of Jaguar models last month, to 4,038 units, they needn’t worry.
