Less than a decade ago, SUV production was pretty much limited to mainstream companies like as Ford and Chevy. But as big ‘utes gained popularity with Americans, almost every automaker came out with one of their own, including traditional car makers like BMW and Porsche . Jaguar was one of only a handful of companies that was able to show any SUV restraint, and Jaguar’s new owners – India’s Tata Motors – plans to exercise the same kind of self control going forward.
In an interview with AutoTelegraaf, Tata CEO Ratan Tata revealed that Tata has completely ruled out giving its newest luxury brand an SUV model. Tata’s reasoning is partly due to the recent collapse of the SUV market, but more because the Indian automaker also acquired the Land Rover marque in its deal with Ford.
Instead, Tata will refocus Jaguar on the sports car and luxury sedan markets. An updated XK is in the works for next year, which will be followed by a high-performance XKR-R. Jaguar’s long-rumored Porsche 911 rival is officially in development, and will likely wear the C-XE nameplate as a lightly disguised concept before hitting the market as the XE.
A new XJ sedan is also being readied to complement the company’s XF sedan, and should be ready to hit the market in late 2010.
