Export woes a factor as JLR sales dip in November

SALES of Jaguar Land Rover are up 10% during 2014 despite certain export markets proving to be challenging.

In the year-to-date, the Indian-owned company has sold 421,286 vehicles, although November bucked the yearly trend and declined 2%. The group sold 36,621 vehicles last month and it has blamed the decline on “product launch factors”.

The figures for December will also make for interesting reading, especially as JLR, in common with several other producers such as Audi, opted last week to suspend sales in Russia due to the spectacular decline of the ruble.

The ruble has lost more than 40% of its value since June, heralding Russia’s biggest financial crisis since 1998. Economic sanctions against the country are also doing little to improve the situation.

The impact on car makers exposed to the market has even been described as a “bloodbath” by the head of Nissan.

JLR has not commented officially on the situation but it is thought to be playing a waiting game, preferring to see the ruble stabilise before resuming sales in the country.

Commenting on the November performance Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director said:  “Calendar year to date, we continue to see strong demand for our products, delivering solid growth, up an impressive 10% versus last year and performing well across many of our key markets.”

Jaguar Land Rover’s regional performance calendar year-to-date shows 32% growth in the China Region, 17% in Asia Pacific, 6% in the UK, 3% in Europe and 2% in North America, with Other Overseas markets 2% down.  
 
Sales in November were up 10% in the China Region, 5% in Asia Pacific and the UK but down 3% in Europe, underlining the challenges posed by the Eurozone. Sales in Other Overseas markets were down 12% for the month and, in North America, sales were down 17%.

Land Rover delivered 30,611 vehicles in November, down 2%.  Calendar year-to-date sales reached 346,679 vehicles, up 10% year-on-year on the back of continued strong customer demand particularly for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.

Jaguar sales during November were 6,010, down 4%. Calendar year-to-date sales were up 7% year-on-year at 74,607 vehicles, with the XF and F-Type continuing to drive sales and raise brand awareness around the world.

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