The sexy Jaguar XE luxury sedan could be primed for a 2016 Auto Expo debut

The biennial Indian Auto Expo is a motor show that sees a flurry of new, incoming cars getting previewed and launched. The next edition of this motor show is just about a year away, in 2016. The Jaguar XE luxury sedan, confirmed for an Indian debut in 2016, could be unveiled at the next year’s Auto Expo.

The car will be the British brand’s entry-level sedan, squaring off against the likes of the BMW 3-Series and the Mercedes Benz C-Class. What this also means is that the XE will be the least priced Jaguar in the country, sitting below the XF in terms of positioning. Expect prices to start at about 35 lakh rupees.

The XE will be assembled in India, from CKD kits imported from the United Kingdom. The assembly will take place at Jaguar-Land Rover’s Chikhli plant, off Pune. CKD assembly will be crucial to the car’s pricing in India, a country that slaps massive import duties on cars that are imported as completely built units.

 

A car aimed at big volumes, the XE is based on the brand new iQ[AL] platform. This platform uses aluminium extensively to keep weight low and improve torsional rigidity. Jaguar has even been making all the right noises about inducing a fun-to-drive character onto its latest luxury sedan, which is in actuality a replacement to the X-Type.

The Jaguar XE will use the Ingenium range of turbocharged petrol and turbo diesel engines, which will also be kitted out with direct injection and variable valve timing. A top-of-the-line high performance variant of the XE, with the SVR badge, will train its guns on the likes of the BMW M3 and the Audi RS5.

The XE, in SVR trim, is likely to feature a V8 petrol motor and an all wheel drive layout. For now though, the most powerful variant in the car’s range will be the 3.0 supercharged V6 petrol engined variant outputting 335 Bhp. An 8 speed automatic transmission and a rear wheel drive layout is standard on most variants of the luxury sedan.

The iQ[AL] platform that underpins the XE will also spawn a high performance crossover with the F-PACE badge on the bonnet. The concept version of this crossover was recently unveiled at this year’s Detroit Motor Show and the production version is expected to have an Indian future.

Via AutocarIndia