British automaker Jaguar is betting on a different market sector to take off with its 2017 XE.

Apple Watch connectivity is chief among the new vehicle?s innovations. While the future of wearables is still uncertain, the compatibility positions Jaguar as a technological savvy brand determined to appeal to the desires of its consumers on an individual basis.

Betting on wearables
Jaguar has a recent history of placing technology as one of its foremost innovations and areas of development, and the new XE is no different. With the Apple Watch, consumers can monitor fuel from afar, lock and unlock the vehicle and turn on heating or air-conditioning and monitor the vehicle?s temperature.

The interface of a watch screen makes it more naturally suited and convenient to administer these controls than a mobile phone.

Although the popularity of the Apple Watch is still fledgling, making the vehicle compatible shows that Jaguar is in tune with all of its consumers? needs, no matter how niche. Hyper-attentiveness to consumer desires before they become obvious helps a brand build loyalty and trust with the consumer.

If Apple Watches or other wearables were to become more visibly popular, Jaguar is already positioning itself as a favorite to reach the resulting consumer needs. Conversely, if the wearables market stays thin, the brand does no harm to itself, making compatibility a low-risk maneuver with potential long-term gains.

Besides Apple Watch compatibility, the 2017 XE will also have an infotainment system resembling a tablet, serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot and automatically make a number of driving adjustments to fit the satiation.

The 10.2-inch infotainment screen includes a quad-core processor, a 60GB solid-state hard-drive and an Ethernet connection. Drivers can add widgets, shortcuts and programs to the home screen and simultaneously display media, weather and journey details.

Beyond calculating the length of the journey, the GPS will coordinate with the gas tank to determine if the driver can make the trip without filling up and list nearby stations if not, predict dead zone locations based on recent data and even automatically notify friends and family if running late when the traffic stalls the intended ETA.

Many of the advancements appear to be steps toward autonomous vehicles, one of the primary goals in the auto-industry. Jaguar?s innovations could help ease consumers into the still-radical idea and position the brand as a leader on the front.

On the performance front, the vehicle will also avoid transferring torque to the front axle of the vehicle unless necessary, ensuring smoother driving and steering without compromising safety or all-terrain capabilities. Various driver assistance programs, from traffic sign recognition to automatic speed and direction adjustments, are also included.

Jaguar shows off the XE?s performance in a video. The consumer-facing video consists mostly of exterior shots of the vehicle driving on roads and in ice and snow rather than interior shots showing off its technological innovations.

As the automotive market trends toward autonomous driving, Jaguar?s XE shows that it is keen on staying ahead in the technological race. As consumers prioritize convenience and safety, stressing those features rather than speed and design should appeal to the market at large.

Catching up
Previous marketing efforts have shown that Jaguar is concentrated on using technology to appeal to new markets and distinguish itself from competitors.

Last month, Jaguar partnered with Wired magazine to reach a new market segment with its latest innovations.

The luxury carmaker unveiled the XF C-X75 supercar, featured in the upcoming James Bond film ?Spectre,? while the Land Rover brand will unveil its new ?Mind Sense,? ?Air Bubble,? ?Predictive Infotainment? and ?Cargo Sense? technologies. By coupling a hyped vehicle that has wide interest among consumers with technological advances, Jaguar will be able to reach a larger audience when it details its advances (see story).

If the end goal is autonomous vehicles, however, Jaguar has some ground to make up.

German automakers Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi are among the leaders in strategy and execution in autonomous cars, with Tesla and Jaguar a bit further behind, according to an October report by Navigant Research.

Although fully self-driving cars are still at least a decade away, pieces of the technology are already being implemented into vehicles today, meaning that the battle to be first is already waging. Because of the safety and ease of such a vehicle, the first brand to release an effective, fully autonomous car could capture a sizable segment of the market (see story).

Final Take
Forrest Cardamenis, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York