Jaguar is ready to commit full-scale to aluminum. The British automaker recently announced that its new line of vehicles will be based on a new flexible aluminum architecture. Jaguar is looking at the Paris auto show in October to unveil the first of this line. From Automotive News:
Jaguar is moving to a new flexible aluminum architecture for future vehicles.
The XE sedan debuting in October at the Paris auto show will be the first to use the architecture. It will be followed by a compact crossover that will take styling cues from the C-X17 concept unveiled last fall at the Frankfurt auto show.
From there, Jaguar will expand its lineup, with the goal of transforming the brand into a formidable competitor with the German makes. But Jaguar executives insist the brand won’t develop vehicles in every segment. They say they want Jaguar to remain a smaller player than its competitors.
Older vehicles such as the XK coupe and convertible, which would cost too much to engineer to meet new safety and emissions standards, are being killed off. The 2015 models will be the last for the XK coupe and convertible. Jaguar’s halo cars are now the F-Type coupe and convertible. U.S. sales of the coupe began in June. The convertible went on sale a year earlier.
While the aluminum body hasn’t yet trickled down to all of Jaguar’s vehicles, industry insiders believe it’s just a matter of time before the transition is made. For example, the popular XF line will see a redesign in the next 1-2 years, and it makes sense that Jaguar will use that as the aluminum transition point for design and manufacturing.