JLR marks first year of Evoque
JAGUAR Land Rover has celebrated the first full year of production of its multi-award winning Evoque model.
The phenomenal demand for the small SUV has been a major factor in JLR’s considerable growth during the past year – and will play a significant role in the brand’s global expansion over the next five to 10 years.
Evidence of that growth was seen yesterday when the June car registration figures showed Land Rover’s sales rose by more than 46% in the UK last month compared with the same month last year; much of this is due to the popularity of the new vehicle.
The high demand has seen growth in every month since the Evoque’s launch in the UK last September.
Twelve months ago, when the first vehicle rolled off the production line at Halewood, the Evoque had already generated more than 18,000 advance orders from customers worldwide. This interest continues and sales of the Evoque have reached almost 80,000 units in just nine months.
The car has garnered awards around the globe and now boasts more than 110 titles including: Top Gear Magazine Car of the Year, World Design Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year amongst others.
JLR recently launched a special edition of the Evoque bearing the name of its style consultant Victoria Beckham. The firm also won more plaudits when it unveiled a convertible concept at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
The firm said the initial success of the Evoque had had a significant positive impact on the Halewood plant. In anticipation of the launch in 2011, the workforce was increased to more than 3,000 employees.
In March this year, JLR announced it would recruit a further 1,000 employees to help meet demand for increased volumes of both the Evoque and Land Rover Freelander 2, which is also manufactured at Halewood.
In just three years the workforce has trebled and the plant now employs more than 4,000 people.
Halewood operations director Richard Else, said: “The Evoque is an incredibly exciting vehicle that continues to turn heads. Sales of the Evoque remain strong across all markets and here at the plant we are working hard to meet this demand.”
The Evoque is designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK with more than 75% of production exported to more than 170 global markets – generating an estimated £2bn in annual export value for the UK.
