Believe it or not, it's been four years since the Jaguar XE made its debut appearance. A lot has happened during that time, putting it mildly. Within the auto industry, sales of crossovers and SUVs have continued to increase while traditional sedan sales are dropping. To keep the XE strong, especially with fresh competition from the all-new BMW 3 Series, a mid-life refresh is due sometime soon.

Autocar has learned that aside from some XE SV Project 8-inspired exterior styling updates, there will be a new interior with I-Pace influences. One new feature will be a Touch Pro Duo infotainment system.

Other improvements will include better material quality and general fit and finish throughout the cabin. Technologically speaking, Jaguar is also giving its entry-level sedan a few semi-autonomous driving features. General updates to the suspension are also expected.

Under the hood, we expect the existing lineup to continue, but there will be at least one new powertrain option: a 48V mild hybrid. Question is, precisely when will the updated XE debut? We're already in the final month of 2018, so it's doubtful the facelift will be for the 2019 model year. Chances are, it will debut early next year as a 2020 model. We might even see it as soon as Geneva in March. But Jaguar really shouldn't wait too much longer because the XE has already and continues to lose the sales ground to its German rivals, namely the Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. The arrival of a new 3 Series won't help things.

But we're still not sure the XE's facelift will be enough to regain any lost sales ground. Its US sales figures don't paint a rosy picture. For example, only 245 XEs were sold last September, compared to 836 and 829 units in September 2017 and 2016, respectively. Can the refreshed XE repair the damage? Let's hope so, otherwise a second generation may not happen.