Jaguar may sell its new XF wagon outside Europe
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LONDON – Jaguar is considering expanding sales of its new XF Sportbrake outside Europe.
The UK sports car maker released pictures of the model on Wednesday ahead of its debut at the Geneva auto show next week.
"For now it's a Europe-only car, but in the long-term it might go to other markets," said a Jaguar spokesman.
The automaker has ruled out sales of the XF wagon in the United States, where wagons are less popular than in Europe.
The XF Sportbrake will compete against wagon versions of the BMW 5 series, Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E class
"The new car will give us access to an additional 30 percent of the medium-premium car market," said Jaguar's spokesman.
Jaguar expects the XF Sportbrake to account for 20 percent of XF sales initially.
"That figure may go up, we'll have to wait and see. It's our first wagon since we stopped making the X-Type in 2008 and we're up against established rivals," said the spokesman.
The new car will be diesel only with the choice of a 2.2-liter four-cylinder engine or a 3.0-liter V-6.
Jaguar said it won't build a V-8 gasoline version, nor will it produce an all-wheel-drive model, contrary to speculation.
The trunk space is 1,675 liters with the rear seats down. That's within five liters of the BMW 5-series and A6 wagons. The Mercedes E-class wagon has 1,950 liters.
Self-leveling air suspension comes as standard on the XF Sportbrake, as does a soft-close function on the tailgate. The rear seats are dropped by means of levers set into the floor of the trunk and an integrated panel allows the area to be split into three to wedge smaller loads.
Prices will be announced closer to the market introduction in the third quarter this year.
"Rivals tend to charge 2,000-3,000 pounds (2,370 to 3,550 euros) more for the station wagon version and we expect to be competitive with that," said the spokesman.
Deliveries will start in the fourth quarter.
The XF sedan is the best seller among Jaguar's three-model lineup, with sales declining nearly 18 percent to 16,700 XFss in Europe last year, according to market researchers JATO Dynamics. The best-selling car in its class, the BMW 5 series, had sales of 143,804, up 30 percent.
You can reach Nick Gibbs at nick.gibbs@btinternet.com.
