Dr. Reitzle's prescription for Jaguar

His vision for the brand is to “use top-level technology and do so in a very emotional way.”

Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle, Group Vice President of Ford's Premier Automotive Group (PAG) - which includes Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Volvo, and Lincoln - is a man of strong opinions with a clear vision of what his group's brands will achieve during the next five years. Each has a cachet, in varying intensity, of exclusivity, luxury, and individual capability, and Reitzle's task is to ensure that they grow in terms of unit sales each year without jeopardizing that special position. Jaguar Cars - of which he is Chairman - is of particular interest because its sales are now on the increase, from 50,000 in the late 1990s towards a target of at least 200,000, and the likelihood - if the F-type sports car gets the production green light - of reaching 220,000 to 250,000.

Interviewed by AEI, Reitzle said: ‘Two years ago Jaguar just had the XJ sedan and XK sports cars. Now we have the S-type, introduced last year, and next year will come the X400 sedan. It is an incredibly short period of time to double the model range because we have also to support the ongoing models as well as introducing the new ones. I cannot think of any car company that has extended its model range so quickly.” Jaguar is also working on a replacement for the current XJ sedan. It has been reported that it will use an aluminum structure, although Reitzle did not confirm this. The X400 will be launched as a four-door sedan, but there could be another variant within the next three years, said Reitzle.