Record February for Jaguar Land Rover as China sales soar

Range Rover Velar

Jaguar Land Rover has continued its strong start to the year by announcing record February sales – led by strong performances in China and North America.

The Midlands-based manufacturer sold 40,978 vehicles last month, up 9% on February 2016, with Jaguar sales helping offset Land Rover declines.

The company sold 88,671 vehicles in the first two months of 2017, 6% up on the same period in the prior year.

Sales were up 40% in China (where the region has seen year-on-year growth of 118%), 16% in North America and 14% in the UK. Europe and other Overseas markets were down 2% and 7% respectively year-on-year.

Jaguar was the star performer; up 81% last month with sales of 12,203. This was the result of strong demand for the F-Pace, XE and XF. The performance was sustained over the two-month period where the Big Cat saw overall sales of 26,152, a rise of 78% on last year.

Land Rover did not fare as well. Sales were down 6% overall last month at 28,775. For the first two months, sales were down 9% at 62,519 compared to the same period last year.

Best-sellers for February were the Discovery Sport, retailing 8,357 vehicles, the Range Rover Evoque, retailing 7,806 vehicles and the Range Rover, with sales of 4,790.

The company will be looking to clawback the lost sales following the roll-out of the old model Discovery. Sales have now begun for the all-new Discovery and this month has seen the launch of its latest model, the Range Rover Velar.

Commenting on the performance, Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director said: “I am delighted to see another historic month of sales, thanks in large part to impressive performances in China and North America as well as continued customer demand for the Jaguar F-Pace and Discovery Sport.

“The all-new Land Rover Discovery went on sale in February and the already strong demand makes us optimistic that it will more than outweigh sales of the previous model.”

The performance comes as the company looks to the Geneva Motor Show – the traditional start of the European Motor Show calendar – to turnaround European sales.

One a strong stand, the company unveiled three ground breaking new vehicles – the Range Rover Velar, its electric family sports car, the Jaguar I-Pace concept and ‘Project Hero’ a bespoke humanitarian version of the Land Rover Discovery.

‘Project Hero’ has been created by JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations in partnership with the Austrian Red Cross and amongst other things, features innovative drone technology. The vehicle will be trialled by emergency response teams over the next year.

Dr Ralf Speth, CEO, JLR, said: “Jaguar Land Rover is a technology company, creating world-class premium cars. Today, we have unveiled two revolutionary new vehicles – the Range Rover Velar and the Jaguar I-Pace Concept. Both are true to our purpose: to create experiences our customers love for life.”

 

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