Jaguar has started the production of the XE sedan at sister company Land Rover’s updated Solihull plant. The Solihull plant, as announced by Jaguar, will build the XE sedan and the F-Pace SUV along its regular production lines.
The all-new Jaguar XE will become the company’s first car to be built at this facility which builds the entire Land Rover line-up, except for the Evoque and Discovery Sport.
The all-new XE sedan is based on Jaguar’s new iQ[Al] platform, featuring extensive use of aluminium to reduce weight and increase overall stiffness.
The XE will get JLR’s new 2.0-litre Ingenium diesel, and turbocharged petrol engines, in two states of tune. The diesel motor will generate 161bhp and 178bhp, and the petrol motor will generate 197bhp and 237bhp. The XE will also get the supercharged 3.0-litre V6 from the F-Type in the XE-S guise. The diesel models will get a six-speed manual gearbox as standard with the option for a eight-speed automatic, while the petrol will get the automatic transmission as standard.
The XE will rival the likes of the Mercedes-Benz C-class, BMW 3-series and Audi A4 when it goes on sale internationally in May.