Revealed: Jaguar unveils its Black Country cat
Jaguar this afternoon unveiled its new XE model, a luxury car in the under £30,000 bracket – the first to be powered by engines built in Wolverhampton.
Jaguar Land Rover said it will be assembled with an aluminium body at its factory in Solihull and fitted with the new engine, called the Ingenium.
The engines will be built at the factory currently being completed on the i54 site.
The factory will eventually employ 1,400 people.
The Jaguar XE will be the first user of the Ingenium engines in four cylinder two-litre petrol and diesel variants, which will give it speeds of up to 186mph, but emissions lower than 100g of CO2 per km.
Speaking at the Geneva Auto Show, JLR chief executive Ralf Speth said: "We announced just a few weeks ago that our new Engine Manufacturing Centre would produce a new family of premium, lightweight, low-friction, low emission four-cylinder petrol and diesel units.
"The first of our Ingenium engine range will be used in our all-new mid-sized Jaguar sports sedan. That car will be called the Jaguar XE, and it will be unveiled in production form later this year."
Kevin Stride, Jaguar's vehicle line director for XE, said: "The engineering development of the XE has focused on delivering customers with the most advanced, efficient and refined sports sedan in its class.
"We are excited about our progress to date and are looking forward to soon being able to demonstrate what we have achieved."
Ian Callum, director of design, said: "The new Jaguar XE is every bit a modern Jaguar; more compact in size but visually striking."
