New Jaguar XE will be the first Jaguar built in China

The new Jaguar XE – Jaguar’s return to the market dominated by the BMW 3 Series – will be the first Jaguar to be built in China for the local market.

[nggallery id=1938 template=customlinks]

The Jaguar XE is a big deal for Jaguar Land Rover; the car that could match the success Land Rover has enjoyed in recent years with cars like the Range Rover Evoque.

Revealed back in September, the new XE looks a convincing take on a more modestly sized Jaguar, the new range of Ingenium engines promise economy and performance and the residual values forecast for the XE promise it will be cheaper to own than the competition.

Now, to no-one’s real surprise, it’s been revealed by JLR’s Global Fleet Director Ken Forbes, in conversation with Automotive News Europe, that the Jaguar XE will join the Range Rover Evoque and new Land Rover Discovery Sport as ‘Made in China’ models, although Forbes declined to say when China production of the XE will start.

With plans to add an engine plant in China next year, the Jaguar XE will become the first Jaguar ever to be built completely outside the UK, and should spearhead Jaguar’s sales push in China, perhaps even with a long wheelbase XE designed purely for the China market too.

And no doubt local sales of locally-produced Jaguars and Land Rovers in China will help JLR reach its goal of 850,000 sales by 2020.