JLR sales improve as microchip supply issues ease

Sales of the luxury Jaguar Land Rover marques increased in the third quarter, due to improvements in the supply of microchips.

The motor manufacturer, with production plans in Halewood on Merseyside, and Solihull and Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands, also set a new record for orders.

The group said wholesale volumes for the three months to December 31, 2022, were 79,591 units in the period, excluding the Chery Jaguar Land Rover China joint venture, up 5.7% compared with the prior quarter ending September 30, 2022, and 15.0% compared with the same quarter a year ago.

Compared with the prior quarter, wholesale volumes were higher in North America (+17%), UK (+13%) and Overseas (+10%) and lower in China (-13%) and Europe (-3%). Volumes in China were impacted by COVID.

The production ramp up of New Range Rover and New Range Rover Sport continued with 27,456 ​units wholesaled in the quarter, up from 13,537 in quarter two.

Retail sales for the third quarter were 84,827 units, up 5.9% compared with the same quarter a year ago and 3.7% lower than from the prior quarter ending September 30, 2022, reflecting timing between retails and wholesales.

Wholesale sales are the finished cars JLR sells as a business, while retails are vehicles customers buy from retailers.

The company continues to see strong demand for its vehicles. As at ​December 31, 2022, the total order book increased to 215,000 client orders, up around 10,000 orders from September 30, 2022. Demand for the New Range Rover, New Range Rover Sport and Defender remain strong and represent 74% of the order book.

Jaguar Land Rover expects to report unaudited results for the third quarter ending December 21, 2022 on 25 January 2023. On a preliminary basis, free cash flow is likely to be more than £400m positive in the quarter.

In December 2022, the company completed a renewal of its undrawn revolving credit facility with 23 banks at £1.45bn with the maturity date extended from March 2024 to April 2026.

Meanwhile, Crewe-based Bentley Motors announced total sales of 15,174 in 2022, an increase of four per cent over the previous record year (14,659) in 2021 and the first time Bentley has reached more than 15,000 cars.

This significant achievement was driven by new model introductions and increasing demand for Mulliner personalisation and Bentley’s new hybridised models, introduced under Bentley’s Beyond100 strategic path to full electrification by 2030.

The continued demand for SUVs ensured Bentayga remained Bentley’s number one model, selling more in its sixth year of sales than ever before, accounting for 42% of total sales and establishing itself as the most successful luxury SUV in the world.

Furthermore, consistent appeal continued for the Continental GT and GT Convertible, accounting for nearly a third of sales, 30%, with the new, performance-orientated GT Speed the most dynamic road car Bentley has ever built, taking a 31% high of the model mix.

Finally, the Flying Spur, the world’s finest luxury four-door grand tourer reached 28% of total sales, thanks in part to the introduction of the new Hybrid model, the most advanced and environmentally-friendly Flying Spur ever.

Since market entry, the Flying Spur Hybrid is 30% of the model mix, however in the UK, two thirds of all Flying Spurs sold are hybrid, the highest figure globally.