Jaguar Land Rover’s UK sales defy global successes

UK sales of Jaguar Land Rover continue to defy the company’s global success as latest figures show a fall in demand for both brands.

Data from the Society of Motor Traders and Manufacturers shows Jaguar sales fell 23.3% last month while Land Rover declined 11.5%.

The pattern is a familiar one this year and is at odds with the firm’s global sales, which have reached record levels and help propel the firm to profits of £1.1bn .

In the year to date, Jaguar sales are down almost 20% while stablemate Land Rover has declined more than 8%.

The latter will be hoping the situation improves later in the year when the new Range Rover Evoque is launched in the autumn. It could be that buyers are waiting for the launch of the new model before committing to a purchase.

What will be more galling for JLR is that rival BMW continues to show resilience in the UK market. Its sales grew more than 11% in May and the German company commands a 5.82% market share.

However, this will still be good news for the West Midlands economy because of the demand for engines produced at the firm’s Hams Hall plant.

In a further boost for the group, sales of the Mini recovered in May, up almost 24% on the same month last year.

Even more disappointing for JLR was that both Audi and Mercedes Benz showed increases during the month.

MG has seen its sales pick up following the launch of the new Longbridge-assembled MG6. Sales were up 56% in May compared to same month last year although the niche nature of the firm is illustrated by the fact these figures relate to the sale of just 50 cars compared with 32 in May 2010.

Ford remains the biggest company with a near 14% market share, followed by Vauxhall with 11.6%. Both saw sales increase last month.

Japanese firms Honda and Toyota saw the production problems faced by their parent companies reflected in UK sales, with the figures for the month down 36.6% and 30.4% respectively.

However, Nissan fared better. Its sales were up 17% for the month dispelling concerns the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami were being felt everywhere.

In the luxury sector, Aston Martin sales grew almost 16% in May with 88 cars sold compared with 76 in May 2010. Bentley saw its sales leap 50% with 110 cars sold as against 73 this time last year.

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