Evoque-factor boosts Land Rover sales figures more than 60%
LAND Rover has seen a massive hike in sales in the UK following the launch of its new Evoque model. Sales of the iconic vehicles rose more than 63% in October when compared with the same month last year.
The Indian-owned business sold 3,044 vehicles during the month, well above the 1,864 from October 2010.
Interest in the new model, which is manufactured at JLR’s plant in Halewood, has been strong throughout the summer, right up until its launch in September. Advance orders for the vehicle topped 16,000.
The announcement of strong UK sales will be welcomed by Tata Motors, which is launching the Evoque in India this month.
Rohit Suri, Head of the Premier Car Division, Jaguar Land Rover India said: “The response to the Range Rover Evoque has been phenomenal across the world and India has been no exception. We have seen a lot of interest and excitement around this car in all regions of India and are now pleased to launch the car here.”
The strong sales have helped to redress a difficult year for Land Rover in its home market. Despite the good performance in October, Land Rover sales for the year-to-date are still down 2.84%.
The news for stablemate Jaguar was not so good. Sales for October were down 11.5% on October 2010 and for the year-to-date sales are down 13.5%.
Nevertheless, global sales continue to be strong; Tata saying the upward trend continued around the globe during October.
Across the UK as a whole, new car registrations rose by 2.6% in October to 134,944 units, the second increase in three months.
However, the difficult year for the industry is underlined with total sales for the 10-months to October down 4.5% on last year at 1,688,038 units.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the market was on track to achieve full year sales of 1.923m units and it remains cautious over growth in 2012.
Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, said: “October’s new car market rose 2.6% on last year – a positive result despite the uncertain economic climate.
“Vehicle manufacturers and their dealer networks are working hard to offer consumers value for money through improved fuel efficiency, low running costs and innovative finance. We expect market conditions to remain challenging and hope the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement later this month will help to boost economic growth and consumer confidence.”
