Jaguar�s 3-Series rival gets the green light

Jaguar�s ambitious expansion plans have been given the go-ahead. Parent firm TATA Motors has green lit the firm�s plans to create a rival for the BMW 3-Series, which replaces the old X-Type, and the long-awaited F-Type small sports car.
The announcement came in an interview with TATA Motors CEO Carl-Peter Forster, who confirmed Jaguar�s new model expansion plans.
Before the new models arrive, Jaguar will unveil estate and long-wheelbase versions of the XF. Jaguar claims that 60 per cent of its XF sales are conquests over rival brands, and the estate is designed increase the model�s appeal in Western Europe, while the stretched version is set to further improve sales in China.
It�s been a long time coming, but the two-seater sportscar will then arrive in 2012. Set to be called XE when it launches, the car is likely to be offered as a coupe and a roadster, and built on a new medium-sized lightweight aluminium platform.
The development of this new chassis will absorb much of TATA�s �1bn per year investment in Jaguar Land Rover. Auto Express understands that the platform will be shared with the next XK. But given Jaguar�s need to keep costs in check, it�s likely that the firm�s new underpinnings will be modular, and could be scaled up or down to underpin the new XE and XK, and the replacement for the X-Type and XF, which is currently made from steel.

Despite killing off the old X-Type, the trend towards downsizing has made a replacement even more likely. The firm has already demonstrated that its XF and XJ models can compete with the established contenders from BMW and Mercedes, so a smaller car to take on the top-selling 3-Series is a priority, inspired by the RD6 concept which debuted at Frankfurt seven years ago.