Jaguar has announced it will stop rolling out the Jaguar XK sports car sometime in the middle of the year. Jaguar says it wants to shift focus to other upcoming models, including the new XE sedan and F-Type coupe that will lead to a drop in sales for the XK sports car.
Sales of the Jaguar XK have gone below 4,000 since the F-type models were launched. Jaguar managed to sell 1,000 units in the last three months of 2012, but dropped to only handful units in the last three months of 2013. The F-Type is effectively killing off the XK model, on which it is loosely based, despite the wide difference in price point and positioning.
However, insiders at Jaguar have not ruled out a replacement for the XK in the future. It’s likely to be a vastly different model to the 2+2 GT it will replace.
At the end of 2012, design director Ian Callum said Jaguar was “going through a lot of discussion” about how the XK should evolve in the future. No final decision has yet been taken, but Callum said there was an opportunity to “allow the car to become a bit more special than a GT”.
“It could grow into the luxury market, and grow in size,” he said. “Whether it stays the same as a two-plus-two or becomes a two-plus-more-than-two has not been committed to yet.”
The F-type’s launch removes the need for the XK to act as out-and-out sports coupé and luxury GT. With the F-type becoming Jaguar’s dedicated sports car, there’s scope for the XK to focus on its luxury GT credential.
Back in January, Jaguar had announced a reduced XK line-up with a substantial price-cut, which will now act as a run-out range.
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