We expect X-Type to attract far more female buyers

Jonathan Browning Jaguar

Dubbed the Baby Jag, the four-door saloon is expected to more than double the luxury car maker's sales to 200,000 a year by 2003 or 2004.

The four-wheel-drive X-Type will go on sale in Europe next summer and in the autumn in the US.

Ford-owned Jaguar hopes the new model will propel the company out of the niche market, becoming a major player in the mainstream market.

It is being built at the former Ford Escort plant at Halewood, Merseyside, which has undergone a �300m redevelopment.

Jaguar managing director Jonathan Browning said: "Customers for the X-Type typically will be younger than traditional Jaguar buyers with notably different needs.

"We also expect X-Type to attract far more female buyers."

Jaguar currently builds three model ranges: the XJ luxury saloon, the S-Type saloon and the XK sports car.

The XJ and XK models are built in Coventry and the S-Type in Birmingham.

Ford bought Jaguar 10 years ago for $2.5bn (�1.75bn).