THE XK will never be Jaguar’s biggest-selling car, or its biggest money-spinner. Even in its best year, the outgoing XK sold just 14,000 and in 2005 sold only 7,000 worldwide. The new model, similarly, will sell in relatively modest numbers.
Yet the XK is vitally important for Jaguar. The car is the marque’s motor sport flagship, the embodiment of its race, grace and pace heritage. If the XK flops, then what hope for its saloons? For Jaguar is struggling and sales in the United Kingdom fell 19 per cent to 26,000 in 2005.
So far the signs are good. More than 1,500 advance orders have been placed for the car in the UK, with 1,600 more orders on the books in the United States, where more than half the cars are expected to be sold.
Jaguar needs not only to increase present worldwide sales of 90,000, but also to make more money on each car sold, which is where the XK comes in — and why it is so important that the car is well-received.
Bibiana Boerio, the managing director, said: “The car will be profitable for us and will also make money for our dealers. The XK is so important because it provides a foundation for us, it will reintroduce people back to the Jaguar brand who may have left us, and will also bring new customers to the Jaguar marque.
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“This car is a signpost for us, it is a clear indicator of the direction in which we are headed, and it shows, better than words, what Jaguar is capable of. The XK brings together Jaguar’s historic strengths of refinement, power and sophistication in a car that is technologically friendly, plus it is a great design.”