Record month for Jaguar Land Rover as US sales double
VEHICLE manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover has enjoyed a record August, with sales boosted by the arrival of a clutch of new models.
The car company said sales reached 36,926 vehicles last month, up 26% on the corresponding month last year. Sales in the United States were especially strong.
The newly-launched Range Rover Evoque convertible was one of the models to help the performance with 1,200 vehicles sold, although sales for the Land Rover Discovery Sport, the Jaguar XE and the F-Pace crossover were all strong.
In the first eight months of the year JLR has sold 372,978 vehicles – up 24% on the same period in 2015.
In addition, Jaguar recorded its best August ever, delivering 10,868 vehicles, up 104% on the previous year, reflecting the strong launch of the F-Pace as well as continued solid sales of the XE. This month, Jaguar performed strongly across all regions, notably in North America, where thanks to the brand’s expanded line up, sales more than doubled year-on-year. Calendar year-to-date sales for Jaguar were 85,726, up 72% year-on-year.
Land Rover strengthened its position in the SUV sector with its strongest August sales of 26,058 vehicles, up 9% year-on-year. The best-seller for the month was the Discovery Sport, retailing 7,053 vehicles. Calendar year-to-date sales for Land Rover reached 287,252 vehicles, 14% up on the prior year.
Sales in North America and Europe were up 45% and 37% respectively compared to the previous year. Retail sales were up 36% in China, 3% down in the UK, and 2% down in other overseas markets.
Commenting on the performance, Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director said: “We continue to grow our sales, with impressive performances across both of our brands. Sales in North America were particularly strong, where we sold over 10,000 vehicles in August alone.
“The Evoque Convertible has performed well in its first few months of sales and will play a key role in continuing Range Rover’s 45-year success story.”
The announcement comes as the company prepares to unveil its latest new model, Land Rover’s new full-sized, seven-seat Discovery.
Now a brand in its own right, Discovery builds on the success of the Sport version, which has won world-wide appeal since its launch last year.
So far it has only offered a glimpse of the vehicle but the Discovery will get its global debut on September 28, just ahead of the Paris Motor Show.
Gerry McGovern, Land Rover’s Chief Design Officer, said: “New Discovery redefines the large SUV. Land Rover’s design and engineering teams have revolutionised the Discovery DNA to create a highly desirable, extremely versatile and hugely capable premium SUV.”
