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NEWS
Wagon in doubt for small Jag
Business case for small 'Sportbrake' variant described by design director as "interesting"The precedent for a wagon version of Jaguar's new small sedan exists already, in the form of the XF Sportbrake.
But with an SUV employing the same aluminium architecture all but confirmed for production, the likelihood of a wagon joining the new 'C/D-segment' sedan is not assured. And even in the wagon stronghold of Europe it's a risky venture for Jaguar.
"A wagon's an interesting business case," Jaguar design director Ian Callum (pictured) told motoring.com.au during the Frankfurt motor show last week.
"The XF wagon's fantastic; [but] its global [sales] footprint is very small. It's only Europe. Okay, it's big enough, but Europe's not a great place at the moment... and we've got a percentage of that – that footprint. The percentage of that footprint for the wagon market is even smaller, so when you start to analyse it, it becomes rather marginal.
"You have to have that debate... although wagon [R&D] investment is probably a third of what this is, but it's a difficult call. Wagon's a difficult one for us.
"BMW, Audi – no brainer. The biggest market in the world for wagons is Germany... 50 per cent are wagons. UK's about 30 per cent. Germans tend not to buy British cars, so it all becomes complicated.
"It's not to say there's not a market there; it's [just] not that clear-cut..."
Callum's caution hints that it could also be a long wait for coupe and convertible models based on the same architecture. Audi's two-door A5 model in year to date VFACTS figures accounts for 17 per cent of combined A4 and A5 sales (including the five-door Sportback models). For BMW, battling along with previous generation E92/93 coupe and convertible models, two-door sales represent just 12.5 per cent of the 3 Series total for the year so far. Mercedes-Benz, with newer product, sees two-door sales comprising 26.6 per cent of the C-Class total.
Yet a two-door model based on the small Jag sedan is looking more likely than a conventional wagon. The SUV will give Jaguar a wagon-like offering with a global reach that can also take on the likes of Audi's Q5, BMW's X1 and Benz's GLK, as well as the 3 Series GT and B-Class. With a different market position and appeal, coupe (and convertible?) versions of the new small sedan would not be fighting for sales with another model in the Jaguar range – lest it be the F-TYPE coupe and convertible. But even there, two-door models based on the small sedan would be priced at a much lower level, as is the case with the coupe versions of Audi, BMW and Benz's mid-sized sedans.
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Written byKen Gratton
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