Car giant’s China crisis accelerates

Jaguar Land Rover’s difficulties show no sign of slowing down after sales in China more than halved last month.

The car giant’s challenges with Brexit have been high profile this year, with the company and its supply chain increasingly concerned about the impact of a bumpy transition on its operations across the Midlands.

But this debate has at times masked the significant decline in sales of its Land Rover vehicles.

In November it sold more than 5,000 fewer Land Rovers than a year earlier – a 14% decline on November 2017. It has now sold 25,000 fewer Land Rovers in the first 11 months of the year than it did a year earlier.

Sales of Jaguar cars have been much more resilient, with sales up 8.9% in November and 0.7% for the calendar year. However out of every 10 vehicles the Warwickshire group sells, seven are Land Rovers, which means the sales slump for that marque is having a significant impact on its performance.

Jaguar Land Rover’s sales to China in 2018, compared with a year earlier:

Retail sales in China were 50.7% lower than a year ago, with JLR pointing to “difficult” market conditions caused by consumer uncertainty following tariff changes and trade concerns.

Jaguar Land Rover said it “continues to work closely with retailers in China to respond to the present market conditions”.

Felix Brautigam, Jaguar Land Rover’s chief commercial officer, said: “In China, we continue to see significant market challenges but we remain focused on taking all the operational actions necessary to balance production with demand.

“Jaguar sales were up in all key markets except China, with the sporty compact SUV E-PACE and newly introduced all-electric I-PACE driving demand.

“Sales of Land Rover models were down this month but will receive a boost with the launch of the sophisticated all-new Range Rover Evoque in early 2019, a true and refined Range Rover with an amazingly compact footprint.”

There are some bright spots within the sales gloom. Strong SUV sales drove November sales in North America to a record high, while sales were also up in Europe and the UK, where it said it had “outperformed the market”.

Despite the improvement in UK sales, there remain deep concerns about the future of UK manufacturing. Last month, JLR announced another 200 jobs were to go at its Solihull factory, on top of the 1,000 job cuts announced earlier this year.

The automotive manufacturer opened a £1bn manufacturing facility in Nitra, Slovakia, in October, where it employs 1,500 people.