(EMAILWIRE.COM, February 27, 2001 ) The X-TYPE is Jaguar's entry into the highly competitive and fast growing compact saloon market. It will go head to head with the Mercedes Benz C class, Audi A4 and BMW 3 series. The X-TYPE goes on sale from the summer of 2001. Jaguar believe the X-TYPE is the most significant product launch in its history.

Jaguar Sports Cars Selling at Record Levels

The X-TYPE establishes Jaguar as a four-model line company, accelerating its rapid transformation from a niche player into a major competitor in the luxury car market and further emphasizing its current status of both one of the fastest growing manufacturers in the world and a UK automotive manufacturing success story.

In the year 2000, Jaguar sold over 90,000 cars worldwide. Together the company's XJ Series and S-TYPE saloons and XK Series sports cars are currently selling at record levels around the globe. Yet, when the X-TYPE range is in full production, Jaguar expects to more than double it's total worldwide sales.

Designed and developed in record time, in around two years at Jaguar's Whitley Engineering Centre in Coventry (UK), the new Jaguar X-TYPE will be produced at Jaguar's Halewood facility on Merseyside (UK).

Halewood Plant and Facilities

It's not just the Halewood plant and facilities that have been transformed with its £300 million investment but its 3000 strong workforce too. They have received over one million hours of training, including 700,000 hours 'on-the-job', to ensure the X-TYPE models are being built to the highest quality standards from day one.

Although the physical renewal of the Halewood plant had to wait for the end of Ford Escort production in Summer 2000, the transformation of the working processes, environment and culture began two and a half years earlier. This provided the vital time to raise levels of workforce skill, to introduce improved manufacturing techniques and created a new, quality-focused culture suitable for Jaguar's premium vehicles.

The X-TYPE

Jaguar believes the more affordable compact sports saloon will attract a new generation of customers to the Jaguar marque. Jaguar predicts that X-TYPE buyers will typically be younger than traditional Jaguar owners and include a greater number of women and young professionals, many with young families.

The X-TYPE is designed to combine practical functions with the features unmistakably associated with the Jaguar range. For the first time on a Jaguar, the X-TYPE features all-wheel drive as standard, making it a car for driving enthusiasts. Improved driving performance comes from the V6 2.5 or 3.0 litre engines, both derived from the AJ-V6 power train already proven to be successful in the larger Jaguar S-TYPE saloon.

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Produced for Jaguar

Contact:
Jaguar Press Office
Sally Lane
44 (0)24 76203776 / 44 (0)7730 923506
slane12@jaguar.com

Cecile Simon
44 (0)24 76203211 / 44 (0)780 1122 2424
csimon@jaguar.com

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