F-PACE won't harm Evoque, says Jag

Jaguar's first ever SUV is shaping up to be a global sales success for the prestige UK brand. Predicting it will charm younger buyers and more women too, the company has allayed fears it will eat into Range Rover profits.

Arriving in Australia in July priced between $75,000 and $120,000, the all-wheel drive F-PACE crossover features turbo-diesel and supercharged petrol engines and is being touted as a style icon and sports car.

Jaguar and Land Rover – of which Range Rover is part – are owned by the same parent company, Indian industrial giant TATA, but will not vie for the affections of the same SUV buyers according to Jaguar Land Rover's global PR boss Richard Agnew.

"There is a market for people who want Land Rovers, and a market for those who want Jaguars," contended Agnew.

He argues that sales of the Range Rover Evoque were in no danger of being cannibalised by the latest and greatest chic British vehicle, because the cars have different appeal and customers will not compare or cross-shop them.

"Look at how the car market is sliced and diced and [Evoque] it's such a different type of car. The Evoque has the all-terrain capability, the F-PACE is road focussed and more design biased."

He also observed that as annual sales of mid-size prestige SUVs are predicted to double from 700,000 today to 1.4 million in 2020, there will be "plenty of customers out there for both brands to survive, but also to be hugely successful."

The new F-PACE will also attract more female buyers – as the Evoque has successfully done for several years – as well as younger buyers, says Jaguar. That means an average age of 50, instead of 60 or thereabouts, asserted JLR's communications chief.

"This car is far more appealing to females, hopefully without being too feminine. We think we have a good balance.

"We're forecasting around one in three owners [globally] will be female for this car, which is a huge leap forward for the Jaguar brand.

"We think it will bring the average age of the Jaguar buyer down by 10 years too."

Some of the rivals for the new F-PACE, according to Jaguar's PR chief, include the BMW X5, Audi Q5, Volvo XC60, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Lexus NX, and sportier crossovers such as the Porsche Macan and BMW X4.

But Jaguar insists it hasn't just cloned the competition as a late comer to the SUV party and during benchmarking it claims its rivals couldn't match the F-PACE's breadth of performance, comfort and practicality.

"We are aware of the competition, we haven't tried to copy them, we've made a Jaguar. It's nimble, agile and comfortable.

"Either the [rivals'] dynamics aren’t quite there, or ride is too hard and crashy. We've got a blend," stated Agnew, who reckoned the F-PACE will prove popular among Australian buyers.

"It's getting good recognition there. I think the F-PACE is going to be a car that suits the Australian consumer. From what I hear pre-orders are pretty strong there," he added, with orders of around 300 of the vehicle expected to grow significantly ahead of the local launch in July.