The new ‘baby’ Jaguar will break cover this summer ahead of launch next year although the company said there had been no decision on a production version of the CX17 SUV concept.

The new, smaller saloon – effectively replacing the long-defunct X-type – will give Tata Motors’ luxury car unit Jaguar a presence in the C-D sector against mainstream models from the German premium brands. Along with the C-X17, it is based on the company’s new D7A architecture which, design director Ian Callum said, could provide the building block for a number of different models.

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For now, the focus is on the new smaller saloon and refreshing existing models.

Callum said: “We certainly need a smaller saloon in the range to give the Jaguar brand greater visibility on the road and we can’t do that with a three-car range.

“As for the C-X17, we are still quite small in automotive terms so we have to prioritise what we do. While we have a mission and an expectation to grow, we have to balance this with cost and benefit. We also have a sister company [Land Rover] that is very good at making premium SUVs.

“We have to pick our targets and we are really only just getting to the point where people recognise what Jaguar is all about on a global scale.”

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Following the launch of the highly acclaimed F-Type, Callum said he had achieved his ambition, launched 10 years ago, to rejuvenate the Jaguar line up.

“It actually took longer than I thought it would and now I have sleepless nights worrying about where we go from here.

“Top of my to-do list is refreshing our existing models – I am even working a facelift for the F-Type already. My target now is a family of cars that will be instantly recognised as Jaguars; we are still not quite there and it’s a real challenge.”

How far can the brand be stretched?

“The new modular architecture will allow us to do any number of things but once again it is all about priorities. Could we do something even smaller? I think we could but that is a decision that hasn’t been made yet.”