As Jaguar Land Rover continues its financial path to recovery, questions remain about the future of a segment Jaguar once dominated, sedans. Of course, Jaguar's sedans have long faced strong competition from Mercedes-Benz and BMW, and that competition is greater than ever as newer players,such as Genesis, have joined in. Meanwhile, Jaguar's SUV lineup remains relatively strong, led by the F-Pace and recently refreshed E-Pace. A three-row J-Pace is also rumored to be in the works. Where does this leave its sedan future? In a somewhat difficult position, actually.

Speaking to Autocar, JLR's UK sales boss admitted the Jaguar XE and XF face a difficult future.

"The XE and XF are a key part of our range for now," he said. "The cars are better than they've ever been. We're looking at how the marketplace is evolving as we go into the future. While it's a challenging market, [sedans] are a very important product for us. We need to look at the lifetime benefit not only for us but also retailers. The XE and XF are really strong used cars."

Bear in mind the XE was just discontinued in the US but remains on sale overseas. The XF also received a mid-life update that'll keep it competitive for a few more years. What we do know is that an all-electric next-generation Jaguar XJ flagship sedan is just around the corner and will definitely be sold in North America where it'll face off directly against the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan.

If Jaguar determines a second-generation XE is necessary, the chances of it returning to the US are slim. A third-generation XF is also looking murky. But there are a couple of interesting alternative solutions we first learned about last summer.

Instead of a new XE and XF, Jaguar is rumored to be considering a single compact sedan available with both hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrains. A more radical idea is a premium hatchback with classic Jaguar styling, an idea first proposed way back in 2003 with the RD6 concept. Problem is, it's hard to see a luxury hatchback with a high price tag achieving success in the US.

If we had to guess, Jaguar will either go with the first option or abandon the sedan segment entirely, with the exception of the XJ.