Jaguar Land Rover premiered its much anticipated Jaguar XE, a mid-sized executive car targeting the same market as the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedez Benz C Class, which will help the Tata Motors premium brand boost sales and reach out to new customers.

While JLR has gradually been releasing technical specifications of the car – built around a new 75 per cent aluminium chassis and therefore ultra light weight, and a high efficiency four cylinder turbocharged engine, giving it fuel efficiency of more than 75 miles per gallon – it had kept the appearance of the car itself a closely guarded secret.

The car made its debut on Monday evening at a grand event at Earls Court, an exhibition centre in West London. This centre was home to the British Motor Show for several decades up until the late 1970s and where many past Jaguars had made their first appearance. Speaking at the unveiling of the bright red XE, Ian Callum, Design Director at Jaguar, said that the XE was a breakthrough moment for Jaguar. “This is an attainable Jaguar – the XE will take the Jaguar brand to a whole new group of customers around the world,” he said. The company will unveil the full range of prices at the Paris Auto Show in October, though has set an indicative price of £27,000 (around ₹26 lakh) for the car.

Drawing on previous Jaguar models, the car features many elements associated with Jaguar – the low body the sculpted bonnet, the sporty feel. At the same time, the company has repeatedly emphasised the break with the past too: “This is not just a vehicle on a different platform, we have developed it from scratch… no limits, compromises,” Ralf Speth, CEO of JLR, said at a briefing earlier in the day.

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