Jaguar is one of those car brands that conjure up images of prestigious and luxurious cars all safely cagouled out of many peoples’ budgets. Across generations Jaguar has built some of the most iconic cars of our time; namely the E-type, which remains one of the best-looking cars ever made.
However, it has now decided to shift its focus to take on established makers of entry-level luxury vehicles in the market. Jaguar will now be direct competition with the likes of Audi, BMW and Mercedes in pushing its’ small but competitive marquee in the fastest-growing industry segments.
The Indian-owned Jaguar Land Rover will roll out its first entry-level model in the shape of a compact saloon in about two years. This will be followed up by a crossover SUV and an Estate model under an entirely-new platform; the first of which were designed by Tata.
It is believed that this new range of affordable vehicles will be made from mostly aluminium in factories that have previously only been used to manufacture Land Rovers in Solihull, Birmingham. This should give the UK economy a boost by creating another 1,500 new jobs according to sources close to the motor giant.
Land Rover has been the main contributor to the group’s strong profits with Jaguar lagging behind and struggling to match the results of the ever-popular Land Rover. It is hoped that this new investment in models will boost Jaguar’s small marquee and enable the famous brand to reinvigorate on a global scale.
The move will follow in the footsteps of other luxury brands such as Mercedes and Porsche who were quicker off the mark in the pursuit of strong sales in the entry-level luxury segments. Jaguar would have specifically looked at Porsche’s success with its Cayenne SUV model, which accounted for over fifty per cent of the car maker’s sales so far in 2013; while Mercedes sales in the compact segment increased 58 per cent in the same period.
It is a gamble by the organisation to move Jaguar from its healthy safety net building two-seater sports cars and luxury saloons, like an ever-popular Jaguar XF. But, if successful it will walk the path already trodden by Land Rover, which has seen unprecedented success with its cheaper Range Rover, the Evoque.
