JLR pledges to sell £1bn of vehicles in China
JAGUAR Land Rover has vowed to sell £1bn worth of vehicles in China this year as it looks to exploit its brand popularity in the country.
The pledge, which equates to 40,000 vehicles, came senior managers from the firm attended a reception in London hosted by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in honour of a visit by Chinese Vice-Premier Li Keqiang.
The visit coincided with the signing of trade agreements worth in excess of £2.6bn, which are designed to strengthen economic ties with China.
JLR chief executive Dr Ralf Speth was one of those to attend the ceremony. He said:
“This commitment to sales in China in 2011 of some 40,000 Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles with a value in excess of £1bn not only signals the acceleration of our growth plans but also reflects both the importance of the Chinese market to Jaguar Land Rover and our value to the UK economy.”
Mr Clegg said: “The agreements we have seen today, (which) follow the Prime Minister’s successful delegation to China in November, demonstrate the momentum we are building together towards even stronger relations.
“Together, today’s deals will safeguard 700 jobs in the UK and are estimated to have the potential to create many more.”
The JLR deal, which follows on from Land Rover’s encouraging UK sales , further underlines how important the Chinese market is for an increasing number of British firms.
Mike Steventon, automotive partner at KPMG, said an emerging middle class within China was driving demand for British-made luxury products.
“Import duties may mean that buyers in China pay two to three times what we pay in the UK for a new Range Rover but that’s not stopping them from placing orders,” he said.
“This is excellent news for JLR and underlines why they wanted to maintain both of their plants in the West Midlands.
“It also serves to illustrate the overall strength of the UK automotive sector which despite what people might think, it actually doing rather well.”
Mr Steventon, who has collaborated on the KPMG 2011 Global Automotive Executive Survey, which looks at the activities of 200 automotive firms across the globe, said growth in the UK car sector would continue to be driven by the development of new products and technologies.
The UK is pioneering new automotive technology and firms such as JLR are set to incorporate much to the new innovation in its next generation vehicles.
Another firm to embrace the benefits of technology is BMW and the attitude is reflected in the group’s latest set of results, which show a 13.6% sales increase last year.
The group, which also includes British brands Mini and Rolls-Royce, said the results were its second best ever.
Rolls-Royce, synonymous with luxury and the height of elegance, saw a 170% increase in sales compared to 2009, while the Mini was up more than 8%. The BMW models saw a 14.6% increase.
The results are good news for the hundreds of workers at the Hams Hall engine plant, which last year saw the production of its two millionth engine . Many of the four cylinder petrol engines are destined for the 318i – the UK’s best-selling BMW model.
BMW board member Ian Robertson said: “2010 was a very successful year for us. We are ‘spot on’ with our new models and are building the cars people desire. We advanced on all continents, in large and small countries alike and continued with a good sales balance between Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
“Looking ahead, we plan to remain the world’s top selling premium automaker and expect sales to climb to over 1.5m units in 2011, setting new record highs for the group and its three brands.”
