Jaguar Small Sedan to Debut New Engine Line

The new small sedan from Tata Motors Ltd.'s Jaguar unit has been named XE and will be powered by the first in a series of all-new 4-cylinder engines developed by the British luxury carmaker, according to the company.

The XE, which was inspired by last year's Jaguar C-X17 crossover concept, will be unveiled later this year. The aluminum-bodied car is expected to debut in the European market in 2015 and reach the U.S. in 2016.

The new model will face such rivals as the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars. Jaguar hasn't competed in the luxury small-car market since it stopped making the Ford Mondeo-based X-Type sedan five years ago.

The new engine family is called Ingenium. The powerplants, which will include gasoline and diesel variants, are the first new engines developed by the company in at least 15 years.

The four-bangers will be built at Jaguar Land Rover's $833 million engine manufacturing center. The company says the lineup will include versions with carbon dioxide emission below 100 g/km and those with enough power to reach top vehicle speeds of more than 300 kph (186 mph).

Jaguar is completing renovations at its Solihull, England, factory to build the XE and as many as two other models that share the brand's new modular aluminum architecture. The facility currently makes Land Rover SUVs.