Jaguar claws its way to the top

"The introduction of F-Type gave Jaguar fantastic momentum: it raised our profile as the leader in high-performance sports convertibles and no other brand sold more open top sports cars than we did in the last nine months. F-Type has accounted for 36% of the convertible premium sports-car segment since its launch, hitting a high of 57 units in September last year," says Kevin Flynn, Managing Director of Jaguar Land Rover South Africa, and sub-Sahara Africa.

A new flagship

The sexy convertible's performance was a dominant one, with the next best nameplate accounting for just 25% of the segment.

Jaguar is expecting its the F-Type Coupé to do the same in the hardtop sports car arena, and projections are that it will not only bring fresh blood to the Jaguar brand but will outsell its open-top stable mate by roughly two to one. It goes on sale at the end of June, also ushering in a new flagship in the shape of the 405kW/680Nm F-Type Coupé R.

Good sales

Jaguar sales have been performing well overall. "XF continues to be a strong contender in the middleweight luxury sedan segment," says Flynn. The track-focussed Jaguar XFR-S - one of the most potent four-door saloons on the market - was introduced at the end of 2013, and the most radical Jaguar XF to date thrust the middleweight back into the spotlight, with the rest of the range benefitting from its high-performance glow.

"The introduction of the intoxicating Jaguar XJR and the XJ Luxury just goes to reconfirm that Jaguar is more alive than ever," says Flynn.

Jaguar's global success has seen sales rise 19% last year and with an exciting product line-up waiting in the wings, the iconic brand looks set to attract more and more new customers. Jaguar recently showed its crossover concept, the C-X17 in South Africa, and has confirmed that it will also build a new compact premium sedan, the XE on a technically advanced aluminium architecture.