Jaguar to debut XE saloon at London event

Jaguar will unveil its new XE model at a special event in London on 8 September rather than wait to launch the mid-sized saloon at the Paris Auto Show in early October, writes Trish Whelan.

The XE will be a rival to premium saloons like the Audi A4, Mercedes-Benz C Class and BMW 3 series.

European sales start in 2015. The XE will be the first vehicle to get Jaguar Land Rover's Ingenium family of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. These will be built at a new plant in Wolverhampton, England, starting early next year. The most frugal diesel XE will have C02 emissions below 100 grams per kilometre.

Jaguar is expected to launch station wagon and crossover versions of the XE.