CEO Ralf Speth told reporters last month that despite the slowdown in China, which had been the firm’s fastest growing market previous year, he still expected overall sales to rise in 2015 compared with 2014. JLR’s USA sales increased to 6,850 units and Joe Eberhardt, its chief executive officer for North America, said Jaguar’s performance will get a boost from the introduction of the new XF sedan this year and upgrades of other models in 2016.
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Jaguar Land Rover sales rose 3% in September, as new models helped drive sales in Europe and the USA, helping offset a slowdown in China.
Commenting on the performance, Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director said:”The all-new Jaguar XE and the all-new Discovery Sport continued to impress this month, retailing more than 13,000 vehicles in total”.
China, Jaguar Land Rover’s biggest market, has been key driver of growth for luxury carmakers in recent years, but growth in Asia’s largest economy has slowed for the first time in a generation, clouding the outlook for auto demand. Sales in the China Region are down 29% year-to-date. JLR started selling Jaguar XE in China in September and will be selling locally produced Discovery Sport in December.
JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, said it was still assessing the damage and that it would take time to work out the level of insurance and other measures involved. Meanwhile, Land Rover sales fell 1.5%, dragged down by Evoque sales in China. JLR, the company said, has clocked 21 per cent growth in Europe, 18 per cent in North America and 15 per cent in the United Kingdom during the nine-month period. In addition, about 5,800 vehicles stored at Tianjin were blown up or damaged when an explosion at a chemical warehouse killed 160 people in August.
“In these circumstances, there is likely to be a one-time exceptional charge in the second quarter of 2016 before any potential recoveries in subsequent quarters”. Volkswagen alone reported damage to several thousand vehicles, according to a Chinese news report cited by Jalopnik.
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The company said it “remains confident about the future” and is aiming to build on the successful launches of the Land Rover Discovery Sport, the Jaguar XE and the new Jaguar XF, as well as launch the new Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar XJ, followed by the recently unveiled Jaguar F-Pace next year.
