E Type on wishlist, but Jaguar Oz has 'bright' future

It has been promising to build a modern E Type for decades and has designed numerous concept cars to no avail, but this time Jaguar really could be serious about reviving its most famous sports car. The Jaguar E Type is due to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2011 and the company is apparently considering giving itself a birthday present.

Early last month the new owner of Jaguar, Indian businessman Ratan Tata, told London's The Sunday Times: "the E Type was iconic so we have resurrected it".

"I would like to see us coming out of the recession with … new products in place," he told the newspaper.

At the launch of the updated XF sedan range this week (new engines, new prices, see separate story), the boss of Jaguar Australia, Chris Lidis, had no more news regarding the E Type, but strongly supported the idea of such a car -- and said the future of the company was bright despite the gloomy economic forecast.

"If I had a wish list, a Jaguar roadster would be on the top of that list," he said.

"That is completely fitting with the Jaguar image of fast, beautiful cars."

However, Lidis admitted two years was not enough time to develop a car from scratch, "so maybe it will be unveiled in 2011 and go into production later, here's hoping."

Lidis, who recently clocked up his first six months in the top job at Jaguar Australia after 32 years with Ford, is due to make his first visit to Jaguar head office in Coventry next month, to get an update on the company's future model plans.

"I hope to come back with some good news," he said.

Jaguar will be looking to secure more volume globally but faces the phasing out of the X Type small sedan in 2010. A car like the modern E Type could help fill that void.

Australia is one of the few markets where the X Type has found a niche, Lidis said.

"At $49,990 driveaway we've found a really good price point that people like and I've just had to order another 100 cars to meet demand."

Lidis said Jaguar was in good health despite recent uncertainty around the financing of its parent company Tata, which bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford last year.

Australia is the 14th biggest Jaguar market in the world. Lidis said Jaguar Australia was profitable and that becoming more of a niche brand is key to its success. The company planned to settle on an average of about 1000 annual sales, he said.

"We are profitable and our network is profitable," Lidis told the Carsales Network, although he later clarified that of the 17 dealers nationally "about half are profitable on the Jaguar side of the business, and the other half are profitable when you combine their Jaguar and Land Rover franchises."

The local Jag boss said the company needs to model itself on the likes of Porsche and Bentley to remain viable as a luxury brand, but admitted the company still has a long way to go.

"We can't be all things to all people," he said.

"We are not a volume brand, we are a relatively small organisation. Although we compete with them in some segments, we don't see the need to have the vast ranges of BMW or Mercedes-Benz."

He said Tata ownership meant Jaguar could now operate its niche business without being hamstrung by the massive Ford bureaucracy.

"I see the Tata ownership as a positive," he said. "Everything I’ve seen so far has made me feel good about where the company is going."

Lidis said the success of the XF sedan has given Jaguar confidence. He said the average age of Jaguar buyers had dropped from 55 to 49 in the past 12 months -- and the median age of XF owners was 44. Further, the XF is the first Jaguar for at least half its buyers.

"We have come a long way but we still have along way to go," he said.

"Jaguar still has a lot of work ahead … in terms of building credibility in the market and being seen as a genuine rival to the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

"But cars like the XK and XF show Jaguar has turned the corner and once you see the new XJ sedan later this year hopefully you'll agree that the old Jaguar is well and truly behind us," Lidis opined.

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