10
December 2007 Brits
place 3,000 Jag XF orders
Jaguar's
S-type-replacing Jaguar XF has already drawn about 3,000 orders in Britain. "The
fact that there is a buzz being generated around the XF is good and the translation
of that into pre-orders has exceeded expectations," Richard Parry-Jones,
chief technical officer of Jaguar's parent, Ford, said, adding that the Jaguar
company is feeling confident as opposed to complacent. "Without
doubt. If it sells as expected, and all the early indications say that it will,
it will be profitable for Jaguar and a very important stepping stone in the road
for recovery for Jaguar profitability." The
new model, he said, is a key element in the Jaguar building process. "There
is increasing confidence and momentum at Jaguar. People know where they are going,
know how they are going to get there and have the clear sense of confidence and
direction." The
design of the XF has got people talking and Parry-Jones said of even those not
immediately bowled over by the car: "The longer they are exposed to it, the
more they warm to it. "It's
a 'grower', there are intriguing features to the design which you can't really
work out when you first see it. It's not a completely, conventionally pretty car.
There are a lot of design elements that are not predictable and those unpredictable
elements take a little longer to understand." UK
customers will start taking delivery of new XFs next March. Built at Castle Bromwich
near Birmingham, it will be exported to 66 markets. Parry-Jones
noted: "Obviously, a lot of our customers come from current S-Type and we
are also looking for those who are currently buying German premium brands to move
across. "It's
a much more interesting proposition as a design statement that the previous Jaguar
so I wouldn't be surprised to attract more design-aware people from the German
brands. The other obvious source of sales is people who are trading up from smaller
premium vehicles and looking for a bigger vehicle and making more of a significant
prestige statement." |