Jaguar endangered species?

Jaguar has announced pricing for the XF, a sports saloon seen as a make-or-break vehicle for the struggling British luxury brand that Ford Motor is trying to sell.

The car will make its public debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show on September 11. Its reception will be watched closely by private equity and car-making groups now weighing bids for Jaguar and Land Rover, Ford's other UK premium brand. India's Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors, alongside at least five buyout groups, are weighing up the car makers for a possible bid.

The car maker described the model as “a dramatic expression of Jaguar's bold new design language” and its styling resembles the C-XF concept car unveiled in January in Detroit.

“It's really key how this model takes to the market,” said Jonathon Poskitt, manager of JD Power, the European automotive sales forecast consultancy. “It's a really pivotal model.”

Kevin Gaskell, chief executive of EurotaxGlass International, the automotive consultancy, said “It's absolutely crucial to the future of the company.”

With a sporty styled exterior, the four-door XF seats five and boasts a number of innovative design features, including a rotary shift that rises into the driver's palm when the engine is started. The model will be available with a range of four engines, including a version with a 4.2 litre V8, petrol-supercharged engine, priced in Britain at pound stg. 54,900.

Despite buoyant global luxury car sales, Jaguar has been losing money since 1999 and its sales have dropped from a peak of about 130,000 to 75,000 last year.

The brand has seen some of its customers defect to bigger brands such as BMW, which sold 1.37 million cars last year, after Jaguar produced a string of cars that some critics described as stodgy.

After failing to compete with larger volume luxury car makers such as BMW, Ford is now pursuing a “niche premium” strategy and emulating smaller producers, such as Porsche.

Ford does not break down earnings for its premium brands but Jaguar's core British unit had reported pre-tax losses of pound stg. 258 million last year.