Jaguar Land Rover sales surge to record high
24 May 2017
24 May 2017
Vehicle sales at Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) leapt a further 16% to a record 604,009 vehicles in 2016, strengthened by continuing strong demand in North America and China.
Pre-tax profit for the year rose 3% to £1.6 billion (€1.9 billion) and revenue soared 9% to £24.3 billion (€28 billion).
This financial year JLR plans to invest more than £4 billion (€4.6 billion) in research and development, expanding its product portfolio and manufacturing capacity expansion.
Indian parent Tata Motors aims to invest in the group to greatly grow operating margins to as much as 10%, from 6% currently before interest and taxes. This ambition will be boosted by new versions of its best-selling Discovery and high-market Velar models. The division keeps the entire loss-making parent company afloat. JLR CEO Ralf Speth said he expects high demand to continue growing year on year in all its key regions of China (up an impressive 32%), North America (up 24%), UK (16%) and Europe (13%).
JLR’s rapidly improving Jaguar unit also commanded powerful results, with deliveries surging 81% in the March quarter on high demand for its new F-Pace SUV and entry-level XE sedan. Tata Motors is investing deeply in the marque to grow a second highly profitable brand, including a fully overhauled brand line-up.
JLR also continues to grow its lead over premium Swedish rival Volvo cars, whose sales reached 534,332 cars in 2016, up 6.2% year on year.
Chinese Volvo owner Geely Automotive, which also owns the London Taxi Company, has made another major encroachment into the European market with the purchase of Proton and Lotus, which have strong engineering operations in the UK, ahead of the upcoming major European launch of its Lynk brand in 2019.
Geely intends to deploy Lotus’ expertise in lightweighting technology and composite materials group-wide across its suite of models as it strives to meet emissions targets in China.
Photograph courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover
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