Jaguar will give the world its first full look at the new XE compact sport sedan in September.
Jaguar is offering a bit more insight into its plans for its new compact model, confirming the upcoming XE sedan will opt for a lightweight “aluminum-intensive” unibody design that will make heavy use of recycled metal.
The lightweight metal will account for 75% of its structure, and the new Jaguar XE will be assembled at a special facility at the Solihull plant in Britain’s West Midlands designed specifically to handle the production of the luxury sedan.
Jaguar was one of the first makers to begin migrating from traditional steel to aluminum, along with its UK sibling Land Rover. Among others is Ford Motor Co., its former parent company, which says it learned enough about aluminum manufacturing from Jaguar to help it design the new, lightweight F-150 pickup coming to market later this year.
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A closer look at the structure and production methods for the new aluminum-intensive XE.
There’s growing interest in aluminum across the auto industry and it’s largely driven by the need to reduce weight in light of increasingly rigid global mileage and emissions standards, such as the 54.5 mpg Corporate Average Fuel Economy mandate set to go into effect in the U.S. in 2025. The general rule of thumb is that every 100 pounds of mass a manufacturer can eliminate yields about a mile a gallon better fuel economy.
Lighter vehicles also can be made more nimble, while lower mass allows a manufacturer to either downsize an engine or achieve better performance out of an existing powertrain.
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Even makers who aren’t ready to go with aluminum across the board are increasing the use of the metal whether as hoods, suspension components or engine blocks.
Jaguar, however, has already gone to aluminum structures for its XJ, XK and F-Type models. And it has not only switched materials but adopted new manufacturing methods that rely on aerospace-inspired bonding and riveting to further enhance body rigidity.
Aluminum does have its downsides. It is significantly higher in cost than traditional steel, is much more energy intensive, especially in the production of the raw metal, and it can be challenging to repair when damaged.
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Jaguar says it is trying to address all of those issues. I has adopted a new alloy, dubbed RC 5754, which uses a high level of recycled metal. A key goal, it says in a statement on the new XE, will be “using 75% recycled material by 2020.” It requires significantly less energy to recycle aluminum than to produce the raw material, which also helps lower production costs.
The Jaguar XE will enter the fast-growing Compact Sport Sedan segment, filling a gap left open since the British maker abandoned its old X-Type sedan several years ago.
It will be based on an all-new architecture that it hints will serve as the underpinnings for other models in the years ahead. The automaker – now owned by India’s Tata Motors – gave a hint of what’s to come last autumn when it revealed the X-C17 concept vehicle. So far, the maker has not confirmed plans for the compact crossover, but a version is widely expected to follow the XE sedan into production, also relying on an aluminum-intensive design.