Small Car Now Jaguar’s “Top Priority”

Tata Motors Ltd.'s Jaguar Cars unit says it is developing at least one compact model to expand the bottom end of its luxury-vehicle lineup.

Brand director Adrian Hallmark tells Automotive News "it is our top priority" to add small vehicles with prices in the U.S. starting as low as $40,000. The British carmaker's least-expensive model today is the XF sedan, which starts at about $48,000.

Hallmark declined to say whether Jaguar is developing a compact coupe, sedan, crossover or multiple models. Observers have speculated that the cars could ride on a modified version of Jaguar Land Rover's "premium lightweight architecture" that carries the Range Rover and Jaguar XJ sedan.

Jaguar stopped building its small Mark 1 sedan in 1959. It re-entered the compact segment in 2001 with the X-Type sedan, which shared its platform with the Ford Mondeo. Jaguar discontinued that model in 2009.