Jaguar is poised to have a record 2015 and to keep growing global sales to well above 200,000 this decade as a massive investment in products, plants and underpinnings starts to pay dividends. It’s a huge turnaround for the once product-starved, nearly bankrupt British brand, whose global volume slumped to less than 43,000 in 2010. Since then Jaguar has been re-invented to aggressively challenge top German rivals in key global segments, and it has done this with the help of executives possessing nearly a century of experience at global premium car leader BMW.
Some looming questions faced by Jaguar, however, include: How much of a financial hit it will take from entering the highly competitive midsize segment and the price-sensitive fleet market? Can it make a noticeable dent in the huge global sales lead of its much larger, richer German rivals, especially in markets such as China where it is barely known?
Jaguar’s revival begins in May with the arrival of the XE, which gives it a long-awaited midsize model to battle the BMW 3 series, Mercedes-Benz C class and Audi A4. The XE also is the first of many fresh Jaguars that will be underpinned by the automaker’s new lightweight aluminum platform. Jaguar Land Rover has poured 2.5 billion euros into developing this platform along with a new range of fuel-efficient engines. Much of the bill has been paid for by profits earned from unprecedented global demand for Land Rover’s SUVs.
The platform will also yield a replacement for the XF large premium model, which is expected later this year, and Jaguar’s first SUV. When the SUV arrives, four out of five cars in Jaguar’s range will be less than 3 years old.
