Jaguar are reported to be planning two variants of the next generation 2015 XJ, one as a more traditional 3-box saloon. Will that mean the return of the Daimler badge.
The Jaguar XJ has always been an impressive car (well, if you ignore some of the periods of unreliability since it launched in the 1960s) and the last ‘traditional, 3-box XJ was very similar under the skin to the new swoopy coupe version that had transformed the fortunes of the XJ in the luxury car market. It just didn’t sell.
That was changed with the latest XJ which comes with stunning (if, perhaps, slightly divisive styling). but, according to Edmunds, Jaguar are planning to revive a more traditional 3-box version of the XJ when the next generation arrives, not as a replacement for the style of the current XJ but as a companion model. But why would they do that, you may well ask?
It seems that although buyers in the UK, Europe and the US are turned on by the lines of the XJ, the Chinese aren’t. China’s car buyers at this level want to sit in the back and be driven (and the back seat isn’t the best place to be in the XJ with its ‘snug’ feeling) and Jaguar believe they’re missing out on a big opportunity.
So the plan seems to be to build an XJ to tempt China’s luxury car buyers in to an XJ whilst keeping the swoopy coupe style of the next generation intact for Jaguar’s more traditional markets. But won’t that undermine all the good the latest Jaguar’s styling has done for the brand?
It’s hard for Jaguar to ignore the lure of the Chinese market, and it needs to do what it can to be a player there. If that means sticking a box on the back for a proper ‘boot’ and raising the roofline, then that’s probably what they need to do.
But wouldn’t it make sense to differentiate the ‘boxy’ XJ from its slick sibling a little more? Perhaps renaming it the ‘Daimler’ XJ?
Daimler was always Jaguar’s limousine, even when it was just a badge on the back of the old XJ. Wouldn’t a Daimler badge allow Jaguar to produce a more traditional XJ for the Asian markets that demand it, without undermining all the good the new XJ has done for the brand?
Let us know what you think in the comments.
George says
May 10, 2013 at 8:26 pmThey should revive the Daimler brand using the X-350 LWB with a subtle redesign, newest engine and transmission technology and the finest possible interiors.
Daimler should be a classy brand.
Percy says
April 19, 2013 at 2:03 pmPerhaps Jaguar could revive one of their other brands for an XJ limo for China. Rover or Lanchester maybe?
SimonSez says
April 19, 2013 at 1:59 pmMaybe Jaguar could revive the Daimler badge and do proper limousines and show Maybach what they should have done in the process?
Chris says
April 19, 2013 at 12:47 pmDoes anyone have the sales figures for the XJ in China compared to the A8, S class and 7 series?
M1TCH says
April 19, 2013 at 9:54 amWouldn’t the Chinese market find the ‘Daimler’ badge rather confusing given their fondness for Mercedes? Jaguar as a brand is quickly being established there, I feel they’d be rather foolish to try to introduce the ambiguous ‘Daimler’ moniker.
Cars UK says
April 19, 2013 at 10:47 amPerhaps, but would they be more foolish to attach the ‘Jaguar’ XJ moniker to a ‘retro’ car, even if it is only for China?
Grunt says
April 19, 2013 at 9:54 am“next generation 2015 XJ”?
This is entirely new, roadmaps (and industry practices) so far have always suggested a new generation XJ by 2017-2018… Where did this 2015 crop up?
Jaguar has a busy few years ahead even without this, with the small Jag XE and new XF arriving around the same 2015 timeframe, probably followed shortly after by the crossover…
Cars UK says
April 19, 2013 at 10:46 amWe’re expecting the next-gen XJ to turn up by 2016 at the latest (7 years in from launch), so 2015 for it to debut makes sense.