Jaguar Land Rover sales up more than 30%

JAGUAR Land Rover has announced a sales increase in excess of 30% for the second quarter of the year, underlining its expanding global presence.

Company owner, India’s Tata Motors, said the strong quarter had helped propel sales during the first six months of the year to 130,090 units, a growth of 13.8% on the corresponding period last year. The firm said the results reflected better product and market mix allied with strong growth in China and Russia.

Sales for the quarter ending September 30 totalled £2.928bn, a growth of 30.3% over the £2.247bn recorded in the corresponding quarter last year.

The period was marked by the launch of the new Range Rover Evoque, which Tata said had sold 7,700 units by the end of September.

The firm has also launched the new 2.2 litre diesel engine for use in the 2012 Jaguar XF, which has already received a strong response in the markets in which it is sold.

The sales figures follow the announcement of 1,000 new jobs for the Land Rover plant in Solihull and the development of a new £355m engine plant on the i54 site, north of Wolverhampton.

The news also comes after Land Rover announced a strong sales pick-up in the UK during October, which saw new registrations of the iconic 4x4s rise by more than 60%.

Tata said cost pressures and impact of exchange rates resulted in a marginal reduction in the operating margins to 14.9%, while an operating profit (EBITDA) of £437m in the quarter represented growth of 17.2% over the £372m recorded in the corresponding quarter of last year.

The pre-tax profit for the quarter stands at £287m (2010: £264m), while the figure after tax is £238m (2010: £243m).