Jaguar’s deft work with the alphabets

Dubai: For Jaguar, it’s all in the alphabets. Having got everything right with the F-Type, it’s now on to the C... the C-X17 mini-SUV to be precise. And on the first day, it was the turn of the Dubai International Motor Show to get a reading on the Jaguar’s new script.

“The C-X17 is a concept that Jaguar is considering and shows the flexibility of the new aluminium architecture revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show to critical acclaim,” Robin Colgan, regional managing director at Jaguar Land Rover, said. “Now, whether it has actually been driven by some high-profile VIPs, that I just cannot say!”

In fact, the aluminium architecture will be the base for future Jaguar models, the first being a new premium C/D segment sedan. “Its global rollout will begin in 2015 and in North America in 2016, and it will be the first aluminium unibody product in the segment,” Colgan said.

That’s for the future, but is the F-Type — the car maker’s first all-new sportscar in more than 50 years — getting more than hoo-haas and actually racking up sales numbers from these markets? “We are thrilled with how the F-Type has been received; in fact sales have actually surpassed our initial expectations, contributing to an overall sales increase of 30 per cent in the Mena region during January to September 2013,” Colgan added.

“Ultimately, it is still a niche vehicle for us, so we aren’t expecting to deliver the same numbers as the XF for example... but judging from the reception it has had since start of sales in April, we can safely say it has become something of a ‘halo’ vehicle for the Jaguar brand in the region and once again reaffirming our strong racing heritage.

“It’s worth noting that sales to date has been of the F-Type convertible which delivered a strong performance despite the seasonal challenges of summer. We are now seeing a growing momentum as we move into the cooler months.” (The F-Type is available in six- and eight-cylinder format and priced between Dh289,000 -Dh409,000.)

The top two regional markets for Jaguar are the UAE and Saudi Arabia, while Algeria and Morocco have turned in stellar turns from the North African territory. “We have ambitious plans to further enhance the customer experience; we will be prioritising this in Saudi Arabia as one of our key markets and we expect our performance to go from strength to strength in 2014.”