Jaguar is considering giving the green light to a crossover SUV according to well placed sources inside the company.
New boss Adrian Hallmark is firmly behind the plan too. “We need a crossover and we need to stop being a saloon-based company,” he told Autocar at a private dinner last night.
Hallmark also revealed that four-wheel-drive saloons will need to be part of the company's future in order to boost its appeal on the east coast of the US and parts of Europe.
Read more on the forthcoming changes to the XF range
He also confirmed that an estate XF was imminent - the wagon will account for a fifth of the model’s sales - and said that lightweight cars are part of “our future DNA”. That’s likely to add fuel to rumours that the next-gen XF and sports cars will be made from aluminium.
Jaguar Land Rover boss Ralf Speth also revealed that Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant was the factory under threat from closure before the decision was made to save it earlier this year. Earlier reports had suggested that the Solihull plant was the most likely to go.
Chas Hallett
