Jaguar World | XJ Special - A celebration of Jaguar's most famous saloon
In my view no car represents Jaguar more than the XJ. Every model – from the original Series 1 to the current technological tour de force – demonstrates the company's traditional yet still relevant image of grace, space and pace. Following 46 years of constant production (compared to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class' 42 years and the BMW 7-Series at 37), the XJ has come to defi ne the luxury car market.
After experiencing the 2014MY XJ LWB for this issue (see page 50), I'm happy to confirm that continues.
And yet I can't help wondering whether time is almost up for the XJ. In 2012 Jaguar sold just 15,000 examples internationally. Admittedly the car has always been a niche model but compare this to the 59,184 BMW 7-Series sold in the same period and you realise it's not a large figure. But more interestingly 74,763 Porsche Cayennes and a staggering 108,544 BMW X5s were shifted worldwide in the same year. Maybe it’s an SUV’s luxurious interior, high performance engine and commanding driving position that makes these cars popular. Because despite their environmental concerns and higher tax costs due to poor CO2 emissions, 4x4s are more relevant to buyers of prestige cars than saloons. Jaguar has fi nally realised this, unveiling the C-X17 crossover at the Frankfurt motor show last year.
Ignore what Jaguar has said about not deciding whether the concept will reach production – the company announced the same at the C-X16’s debut in 2011 and look what happened there. Due to the C-X17's good looks and an interior that has the clever attention to detail style director Ian Callum and his team of designers are becoming renowned for, there's no reason why the car won't sell in large numbers.
Jaguar has been clear it does not want to take sales away from sister company Land Rover but rather sell SUVs to its own customers.
So what that will do to XJ sales is unknown, but it can't be good news. If the XJ's market share shrinks any further due to the new SUV.
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Articles in this issue
Below is a selection of articles in Jaguar World XJ Special - A celebration of Jaguar's most famous saloon.