Jaguar is planning a new SUV family including a compact
models to slot in below the F-Pace
With 2015 set to be the busiest year for Jaguar in a generation, new
product plans reveal that it’s just the start of an onslaught of new models
that includes the possibility of a family of SUVs, starting with a sporty
B-segment model.
Following the arrival of the XE this month and the XF later
in the year, the production version of the mid-sized F-Pace SUV will
debut at September’s Frankfurt Motor Show before
going on sale this time next year.
The F-Pace is pivotal to Jaguar’s future, not only in
inspiring a new generation of models, but providing the cash to develop them.
An industry insider told Auto Express: “Jaguar needs to be self-sufficient, so
the cash generated from sales of the XE, XF and F-Pace is needed to fund the
development of new models.”
Chief among the potential new cars is a baby brother for the
F-Pace to capitalise on the massive growth in global demand for smaller SUVs.
Our exclusive images show how it could look. With total SUV sales set to reach
20 million a year by 2020 and the small B-segment the biggest area of growth,
Jaguar is investigating an SUV to sit below sister brand Range Rover’s
Evoque in size.
JLR’s expertise in lightweight aluminium chassis tech has
been demonstrated in the iQ [Al] platform used on the XE and new XF, and this
could be adapted to fit a small SUV.
It’s also possible that a new family of smaller-capacity
engines could find its way into the baby SUV, with a three-cylinder
turbocharged version of the Wolverhampton- built Ingenium engine family a
possibility.
Jaguar isn’t ruling out other SUVs, with larger and coupé
versions all under consideration, but don’t expect anything to directly rival
the Range
Rover or Range Rover
Sport. Nor should you expect a seven-seat Jaguar – that’s already been ruled
out by Jaguar’s design chief Ian Callum.
A new Sportbrake version of the XF has yet to be confirmed,
but is expected, while coupé and estate versions of the XE are also under
investigation. But an insider told us that those new bodystyles fall into the
category of cars that have to be paid for with cash from sales of the XE, XF
and F-Pace. Whatever Jaguar does, expect JLR’s
Special Vehicle Operations division to be involved at the very start
to produce high-performance versions.
And it’s not only existing model segments Jaguar is
investigating, as there’s plenty of ‘blue sky thinking’ going on at its design
and engineering base in Whitley, near Coventry. As the insider hinted: “There’s
further white space that Jaguar could really exploit with innovative design and
technology.” Jaguar has plenty of room for growth: it accounted for 81,570
global sales in 2014, while Land Rover’s SUV portfolio totalled 381,108
sales. With the XE, XF and the F-Pace on stream, Jaguar sales are expected
to exceed 200,000 by the end of the decade.
source: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/jaguar/f-pace/91850/baby-jaguar-f-pace-to-join-jags-growing-suv-family
by Steve Fowler
http://www.boscheuropean.com
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