Production of the all-new Jaguar XE saloon has begun today at the Jaguar Land Rover plant in Solihull. The first units of the BMW 3 Series rival have already been rolled off the production line and First deliveries of the XE are expected to take place this May.
While Jaguar models are traditionally built at the Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham, the XE is an exception. Until now the plant in Solihull, which like Castle Bromwich is based in the West Midlands, was used exclusively to build new Land Rover cars.
However, the Jaguar Land Rover organisation has now opened new facilities at the Solihull and these will be used for production of the XE. These new facilities have been described by Jaguar Land Rover as a ‘factory within a factory’ and cost £500 million to build.
Jaguar Land Rover adds that the XE represents the culmination of over £2 billion of product, infrastructure and technology investment, creating a £4 billion supply chain opportunity in the process.
The Jaguar XE is available to order now, with prices starting from £26,990. The compact executive saloon will offer a selection of four and six-cylinder petrol engines, as well as units from the manufacturer’s all-new Ingenium diesel line-up.
The Ingenium engines comprise of turbocharged four-cylinder 2.0-litre units with outputs ranging between 161bhp and 178bhp. These are the most efficient in the XE range, offering a fuel economy figure of up to around 75mpg and a CO2 emissions output of just 99g/km.
Other engines offered with the XE from launch includes a 2.0-litre turbo petrol with 197bhp and 237bhp and a 336bhp 3.0-litre V6 for the range-topping XE S specification.
Standard equipment for new Jaguar XE models will include 17-inch alloy wheels, cruise control, sat-nav and an infotainment system complete with an eight-inch touchscreen.
