The new S-TYPE is positioned below Jaguar's XJ Series saloon range in both size and
price and will compete in one of the fastest growing segments of today's passenger car
market.
The recently launched V8 XJ Series saloons and XK sports cars have helped put Jaguar on
course for annual sales exceeding 50,000 cars for the first time in the company's history.
With a three-model line up, Jaguar expects to sell around 85,000 cars in 1999,
effectively double the level achieved in 1997, rising to over 90,000 cars in the year
2000, the first full year of S-TYPE sales.
Jaguar forecasts worldwide sales of 40,000 S-TYPES in 1999, rising to over 55,000 cars
in 2000. The largest markets for S-TYPE will be Europe and the USA, each taking around 40
per cent of world sales. The UK alone will take around 20 per cent, Germany 8 per cent and
Japan 5 per cent of total sales.
Jaguar chief executive Nick Scheele said:
"The new S-TYPE is a true Jaguar thoroughbred, ably representing the company's
core marque values of distinctive style, refined power, agile handling, supple ride and
luxurious comfort.
"While S-TYPE's instantly recognisable styling signature evokes the spirit of its
acclaimed antecedents, the Mark 2 and original S-type saloons, advanced technologies set
new standards in terms of durability, quality, reliability, customer convenience and
driving pleasure.
"The launch of S-TYPE signals the dawn of a new era in the history of Jaguar. The
new S-TYPE represents the first stage of a dramatic product-led expansion of the company
over the next four years, which will attract a new generation of customers to the Jaguar
marque.
"This will fuel a four-fold rise in Jaguar sales from fifty thousand cars this
year to over two hundred thousand cars by 2002, firmly establishing Jaguar as a leading
player in the world's premium car market"
