Sales and reception
In November 2000, managing director Jonathan Browning said Jaguar's objective was to achieve annual sales of 100,000 with the car, partly by taking market share from established German rivals and partly by expanding the market segment in Jaguar's key markets.[25] The X-Type was Jaguar's best selling model during almost all its production run,[26] but sales did not meet projections, peaking at 50,000 in 2003.[26] In the United States, the car's primary market, sales dropped from 21,542 in 2004 to 10,941 in 2005.[26] In the same year, Audi sold 48,922 A4s, BMW sold 106,950 3 Series, and Mercedes-Benz sold 60,658 C-Class.[26]
The X-Type's sharing of a modified Ford Mondeo platform, which was shared with the Land Rover Freelander, a small offroader that was also produced at Halewood,[27] was not well received by Jaguar purists.[28] Notably, the Volkswagen Passat shared its platform with its compact executive class rival, the B5 Audi A4.[29] The X-Type's limited powertrain choices affected its initial press reception. Initially, the X-Type was only available with six cylinder petrol engines, coupled to an all-wheel drive system,[30] resulting in poor fuel economy, while its key German rivals, the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, and Mercedes C-Class were sold predominantly in two wheel drive form, with four cylinder petrol or diesel engines, a critical offering in the economy conscious European market. A four-cylinder diesel option (only available with front wheel drive) was not offered in the X-Type until two years after its launch.
Jeremy Clarkson, then of BBC's Top Gear, lauded the X-Type, especially the 4x4 and sport versions. In two episodes, he demonstrated its capabilities in the snow, declaring that it "laughs in the face of the weatherman, the police and the AA, with their advice to stay at home". With regards to the sharing of the Ford Mondeo platform, Clarkson states that this should not put you off, stating that "genetically you are 98% identical to a halibut, but it's the 2% that makes the difference".[31]
Other car magazine and website reviews were largely positive for the X-Type, especially during its introduction.[32][33] The X-Type used only 19% of Ford Mondeo's components,[34] while a variety of Ford platforms, engines and components were being used by all models of the Ford Motor Company's luxury brands in that period, namely Aston Martin, Jaguar and Lincoln. In January 2008, Jaguar director of design Ian Callum said that the X-Type "was essentially designed in Detroit and presented as close as a fait accompli to reluctant designers and engineers at Jaguar's Whitley design centre."[35]
Noted automotive designer Robert Cumberford called the X-Type's styling "an unimaginable pastiche of many past Jaguars" in the June 2001 issue of Car and Driver magazine. Overall, due to poor sales, Jaguar lost €4,690 per vehicle produced.[36]
