Jaguar boss: “We need a crossover”

Jaguar to move beyond traditional
sedans in bid to grow brand

Jaguar’s newly installed global brand director, Adrian Hallmark, has indicated the British car maker is looking beyond its traditional sedan line-up towards more modern crossover style models in a bid to stir global sales. “We need a crossover and we need to stop being a saloon-based company,” he told British publication Autocar.
Hallmark, who was vice president of Volkswagen’s North American operations before briefly moving to Saab earlier this year and then finally docking at Jaguar, sites a pressing need for Jaguar to appeal more to female and younger customers if it is to fulfill growth plans outlined by parent company Tata. “We need to attract more female and younger buyers to the brand, and we know female buyers are not so keen on low saloons and that they like cars in which they sit up high”, he says. Singling out the Infiniti FX as an example because it “makes a strong style statement”, Hallmark also hinted that a Jaguar crossover, or SUV as it would likely be positioned, could share technology with sister company, Land Rover.

Land Rover Sport: possible base for
new Jaguar crossover/SUV

One distinct possibility is a new Jaguar crossover sharing four-wheel drive underpinnings with the next Range Rover Sport - a move that would not only cut development costs and shorten lead times but also provide valuable on-going economies of scale between the two car makers.
Jaguar originally developed plans for a crossover under former owner, Ford. However, the lack of a suitable platform unitary construction platform was cited as the reason the new car, which was to compete head on with the BMW X5, never progress past an early conceptual stage of engineering.
Meanwhile, Hallmark has also let slip on Jaguar’s plans to provide existing models with four-wheel drive capability, suggesting it is required in order to boost sales on the potentially lucrative eastern coastal regions of North America and selected European countries, including Switzerland. He also confirms the imminent arrival of an XF wagon, which is likely to appear at next year's Geneva auto show.