The company is testing the waters with the C-X17 crossover concept that was shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

“Jaguar is looking for a way to enter the compact crossover segment without competing directly with its German luxury rivals,” said Mike Wright, executive director of Jaguar Land Rover.

“If we can get a slightly different performance-luxury design and new technology, it is possible we could carve out a different niche,” said Wright.

He said Land Rover did just that with the strong-selling Range Rover Evoque compact that went on sale two years ago.

“The trick in the market is to try to find segments that are immature that we can develop,” he said.

But unlike the Evoque, with its low roofline and compact size, the Jaguar crossover concept is as big as the Lexus RX 350 and has more conventional styling.

Jaguar executives said a decision on production of the crossover will be made in the next few months. The United States would be a key market.

If the project is approved, Jaguar would be getting into the crossover game late. All of its luxury competitors have two or more entries.

“There are not many car brands that are doing well without a crossover or an SUV,” said Andy Goss, who will be leaving as CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America next month to become director of group sales operations.

The concept uses an aluminum unibody architecture that will be the basis for a mid-sized sedan that is scheduled to go on sale in the United States in 2016.

Goss said: “With our architecture, there are lots and lots of product possibilities that did not exist before.”