Jaguar has been on a mission to grow their fleet and expand their customer base. Jaguar sent the United States Patent and Trademark Office an application for a trademark under the name “XQ.” This story, originally reported on by Edmunds, has nothing else to offer the public in terms of who, what, when, where and why – but I sure as hell can speculate.
Most automakers use “X” to signify dirt. Being that Jaguar uses “X” in many of their regular vehicles, it can be surmised that “Q” will be the dirt indicator. Why? Because it sounds cool. Now that Jaguar has entered the all-wheel drive (AWD) fray, it makes sense that they would attempt a crossover, especially in this hot market.
What about Land Rover? I mean, they are partners and building an SUV would most likely compete with their sister brand – right?
I thought about that too. Given the impetuosity of even thinking about crossovers for a brand like Land Rover (never-mind the existence of the Range Rover Evoque), how would Jaguar build something that Rover would not? That might be the business case for the upcoming Jaguar XQ; to be a sporty crossover with no serious off road ability.
With the unbridled success of luxury crossovers like the BMW X5/X6, Porsche Cayenne and the development of a Bentley SUV the brain-trust at TATA/Jaguar/Land-Range Rover simply must take advantage of that portion of the market. If you think about it, Jaguar has all of the tools it needs to create a competitive crossover right out of the box. It truly depends on what they project the sales impact will be with Rover.
I will keep an eye on this developing story and I have a feeling we’ll see a few prototypes lurking around testing routes soon.
Check out Jaguar as they sharpen their AWD claws on a snowy course video!
What do you guys think? Is the big cat better off without an SUV?
