JLR makes strong Indian push with Jaguar XE Prestige

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the marquee British luxury car and sports utility vehicle brand owned by Tata Motors, is finally making a serious effort at tapping the Indian market by making the 'Jag' more affordable.

Recently, the company introduced Jaguar EX derivatives called Pure and Portfolio that cost Rs39.9 lakh and RsRs 47.7 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) respectively, and on Thursday, it rolled out another of its derivatives, Jaguar XE Prestige, priced at Rs43.69 lakh.

The targeted group includes owners of small and medium enterprises, young professionals and company executives who would like to upgrade to a Jaguar.

The strategy includes local assembling of more of the products to bring down the prices and rolling out cars that target the mass luxury car segment currently dominated by Mercedes Benz C class, BMW 3 Series and Audi A4.

For more than a year, the company has been assembling some of its models at Pune and this has helped it bring prices down as compared to fully-built imported cars.

Rohit Suri, president, JLR India, said at the launch of the XE in Pune, ''We already had two variants of Jaguar XE, and now, with the introduction of a variant in between them, we are expecting large volumes from this model. With the introduction of Jaguar XE, we have entered a new market segment.

''In February, when we rolled out the two derivatives of Jaguar XE, we received a fantastic response from customers, and many customers wanted a variant that is positioned in the middle. Now, we will be able to corner a bigger market.''

Seven years ago, when Jaguar cars were first introduced in India, the lowest priced car cost over Rs70 lakh. Now looking for volumes, JLR is focusing on rolling out more cars that are easy on the pocket for Indians. ''The XE range is not very expensive, and with this product line, a lot of people can join the Jaguar family,'' Suri said.

Both the Pure and the just launched Prestige variants feature the 2.0-liter petrol engine that produces an output of 197 hp and a torque of 320 Nm, while the Portfolio has a more powerful engine that delivers 237 hp.

There is also the special ''All Surface Progress Control'' (APSC) that helps control the vehicle while riding on low traction surfaces.