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Your guide to vehicle subscription services

They might be extremely limited in scope because of location availability, but vehicle subscription services are a growing trend that most luxury manufacturers are jumping on. Plans are expensive, but you're paying for much more than just the car typically. We highlighted four of the larger plans with a few more listed at the end. Care by Volvo Volvo launched its subscription service last year with its brand-new XC40. It was the only vehicle available for a time, but subscribers can now get an S60 sedan as well. Subscriptions are for two years, with the monthly price including insurance, a concierge service, wear-and-tear item replacements and all maintenance. You'll be able to drive 15,000 miles per year with whichever Volvo you choose, and although there are no options to extend that mileage, you can swap cars after a year. Pricing for the XC40 is $650 per month in base trim, while an S60 can be as expensive as $850 for the R-Design. Volvo's plan is to offer more cars soon through the service, but it's relatively limited compared to others right now. Porsche Passport Porsche has two levels in its subscription service: Launch and Accelerate. Launch will cost $2,000 per month and give you access to the Cayman, Boxster, Macan and Cayenne. All of those but the Cayenne can be had in "S" trim as well. Accelerate is where the fun really starts. For $3,000 per month you can choose from a fleet of 911s, including the S, 4S, Cabriolet and Cabriolet S. If those aren't enough, you can also get the Panamera 4S, Macan GTS and Cayenne S. There are no mileage limits and you can change vehicles as often as you'd like. Also included in the price is insurance, repairs, detailing and any maintenance. It might be extremely expensive and limited to Atlanta only, but this subscription service is second-to-none for what you get. Audi Select Audi just launched its subscription car service, and it's offered in one version for a flat fee of $1,395 per month. For that you'll have access to five different cars including the A4, S5 Coupe, A5 Cabriolet, Q5, and Q7. Not a bad range of vehicles, but it would've been neat to see the recently updated A7 in there too. Maybe in time. Like the others, insurance and maintenance are wrapped up in the price. Audi is allowing for unlimited miles and two car swaps per month here. In addition to that, you'll get two days of free rentals through Audi's Silvercar rental agency should you go on a trip.

Audi considers a rugged SUV — maybe on the Scout platform

Audi engineers are formulating plans to possibly build a “super saloon” luxury off-roader SUV in 2027, It would compete in a segment that now includes the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes-Benz G-Class, according to a report in BritainÂ’s Autocar. According to Audi designer Marc Lichte, quoted in the story, the platform for the new model could be borrowed from the Volkswagen GroupÂ’s recently announced sister brand, Scout Motors, which is currently developing electric-powered concepts and prototypes. While Audi has developed a PPE (Premium Platform Electric) architecture for its base EV lineup, that would be replaced in the planned model with ScoutÂ’s ladder chassis to provide the steep departure angles and ground clearance needed to negotiate tough terrain, as well as with the latest generation of AudiÂ’s Quattro four-wheel-drive technology, Autocar reports. Audi is well into development of its Activesphere project, an enticing design blend of coupe and hatchback. The Activesphere uses PPE, co-developed by Audi and Porsche, and will appear in a production Audi product by the end of this year. Audi says. Beyond that, “I think there is space" for a rugged SUV in AudiÂ’s passenger car lineup,  Lichte said. “There is potential because there are only two premium players” in this particular segment" (Mercedes-Benz and Land Rover) “and I think there is a space for a third one.” The upscale Defender was by far Land RoverÂ’s best-selling car last year, with 66,805 sold, and the G-Class set a new sales record the previous year with 41,174 moved worldwide. Audi obviously would like to capitalize on this popularity of the rugged 4x4 segment. The proposed competitor, said Lichte, “will not look like a G-Class and it will not look like a Defender, I can promise you. It will be something else."

Jaguar XE to be built in China

After a six-year absence, the Jaguar XE will return that most English of automotive companies to the compact premium segment, the brand's first whole-hearted launch into that market. For certain Western markets it begins production at the Land Rover plant in Solihull early next year, but it will also continue the brand's venture in to China having been chosen as the first Jaguar to be built there, according to a report in Automotive News. Jaguar-Land Rover owns a plant in Changshu, a joint venture with Chery Automobile, that started building the Range Rover Evoque this year and will add the Land Rover Discovery Sport. Previously, The Leaping Cat was selling cars built from kits at its factory in Pune, India. The brand figures to sell 20,000 cars in China next year, which would be less than a fifth of in-country sales for the JLR group, but the XE is the "spearhead vehicle" that "could make significant inroads" there, according to Jaguar. For comparison, Audi moved 120,450 A4s alone and BMW sold more than 100,000 3 Series models in China in 2013. Globally, Jaguar is predicted to sell 80,000 units this year. By 2017, after the release of the XE, new XF and coming crossover, plus factory expansions in China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia, it hopes to get that number up to 200,000 units; Forbes has a piece detailing why they think it's possible. The JLR group is shooting for a target of 850,000 units worldwide by 2020. Featured Gallery 2016 Jaguar XE: Paris 2014 View 12 Photos News Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req. via Paul TanImage Credit: Copyright 2014 AOL Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover Luxury Sedan jaguar xe jlr