Jaguar Moves Into Heavy Traffic With First-Ever SUV

Jaguar is set to launch its first luxury SUV in a market segment already extremely crowded.
By Ruben Ramirez ,

After 80 years, Jaguar is set to launch its first luxury SUV in a market segment that is already very competitive and extremely crowded. So how will it compete with Audi's Q5 and BMW's X3?

Jaguar Land Rover's General Manager of Product Planning Robert Filipovic said the new F-PACE "looks different than anything else out there on the road. It looks far more sporty and aggressive than anything else in that segment."

The F-PACE is set to go on sale in the U.S. in early summer of 2016 and will be rolled out into other markets around the world at around the same time. The new SUV will have a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 engine with at least 340 horsepower. Filipovic said Jaguar expects the F-PACE and the XE sedan to be the brand's top selling cars over the next few years.

The two models will also expand Jaguar's potential sales market threefold. The Jaguar XE is expected to hit U.S. showrooms in the spring of 2016. Some industry watchers worry the new F-PACE could blur the distinction between Jaguar and Land Rover. Filipovic says he doesn't see that as an issue.

"In designing this SUV, how do you design one that is representative of the brand, you design for performance. As long as we can continue to hold onto what each of the brand's represents, we're confident that we can continue to make cars that are I similar segments but that will have completely different look and feel and character," he said.

Could there be an "E-PACE" in the automaker's future that would be all-electric and go head-to-head with the Tesla (TSLA) - Get ReportModel X? Filipovic stopped short of sharing any of Jaguar's future plans but said there are exciting things in store as Jaguar prepares to launch the F-Pace next summer.

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