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.
