It’s no secret that Jaguar is developing a new C-segment contender and successor to its ill-fated X-Type. The new “small car” forms part of the company’s future strategy under new owners Tata, but the latest from the boardroom is that the introduction of the new X has been put on the backburner.
A 3 Series and C-Class competitor is a very important part of any premium brand’s offering, for the sheer size of this market alone. A successful foray in the C-segment is a financial windfall but, as the company found out with its X-Type, the cost of failure is also very high.
So high, in fact, that Jaguar has been cagey about re-entering this segment and is also worried that the release of a premium C-segment sedan and wagon may cannibalise sales from its highly successful XF. It is also the success of the XF that, perhaps understandably, makes it the main priority for the British company for the time being.
It was originally thought that the “small car”, along with a small sports utility based on the same platform, could be launched as early as 2013 as part of Jaguar’s recent product offensive. However, an all-new XF is planned for 2015, with the latest news from Britain suggests that these models will only be introduced after that date.
That said, Jaguar’s boss man, Adrian Hallmark, remains a proponent of the new saloon. In a recent interview with Autocar, he said, “We’ve got to be careful and not be too British and think that just because we didn’t hit the bull’s eye the first time, we can’t hit it a second time round.”