Evoque helps Land Rover buck UK car trend with sales up 27%

LAND ROVER has continued to buck the trend in the UK car industry showing a 27% improvement in sales during February at a time when the market as a whole was down 2.5%.

The situation will make welcome reading for bosses at Jaguar Land Rover, still basking in a successful day at the Geneva Motor Show when it launched the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake and one of the stars of the show so far, the Evoque convertible.

Indeed, it is the Evoque factor as a whole that is triggering the high growth within the business. The company admitted yesterday that even it had been taken by surprise by demand for the mid-size SUV.

The Solihull-based operation saw its share of the new car market rise to 1.34% last month, with sales rising from 651 this time last year to 828.

By comparison, Jaguar struggled. Its sales dipped almost 13% during the month – down from 227 cars in February last year to 198 this year.

The decline was mirrored in the market as a whole as consumers waited for the new March 12 registrations to come in. February is typically one of the quietest months of the year and accounts for just 3.3% of annual registrations.

Figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed that during February new car registrations fell 2.5% to 61,868 units and during 2012 so far the market is looking flat, down 0.8% on last year. One positive note saw private registrations stabilise, up 2.1% over the first two months of the year.
 
Paul Everitt, SMMT chief executive, said: “The February new car market was broadly in line with industry expectations with a welcome increase in private retail activity.

“The March market will provide a much better indicator of industry health than the relatively low volumes traditionally seen in February. It is extremely important that the Chancellor uses this month’s Budget to strengthen consumer and business confidence by encouraging private sector investment and avoiding any further squeeze on living standards.”