Jaguar will stop making its flagship XK sports car this summer, eight years after the model was introduced. The British firms sold 54,000 units coupes and convertibles since production of the second-generation XK began in 2006.
The carmaker confirmed to Autoexpress magazine that it will end production this summer to make way for a wave of new Jaguar models, the first of which will be the recently announced XE entry-level sedan.
While the company says the decision is part of a “wider strategic vision and product planning cycle”, XK global sales dropped to 4,000 units a year as the luxury GT segment shrunk significantly in recent years.
This means customers that are in the market for a Jaguar sports car will have to settle for the F-Type Roadster and Coupe, the carmaker’s newest products. By ditching the XK, Jaguar also frees capacity in its plants to prepare for upcoming models based on the new iQ[Al] aluminum architecture.
The XE will be built at Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull plant and will go on sale in 2015, with a production version of the C-X17 SUV study to follow, possibly a year later. After these two new models, Jaguar will replace the XF and XJ sedans.
As for the Jaguar XK, it is not certain it will get a direct successor; as such a model is a low priority for the carmaker at the moment.
By Dan Mihalascu
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