Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover says retail sales in the first quarter of its fiscal year were 29% ahead of the same period last year. Tony McDonough reports
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is reporting retail sales of 101,994 vehicles for the three months to June 30, 2023 – the first quarter of its fiscal year.
This reflects continuing improvement in chip and other supply constraints, the carmaker said. JLR employs more than 3,500 people at Halewood in Merseyside assembling the Range Rover, Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport.
By 2025 a new all-electric SUV model will be rolling off the production line at the site as part of a £15bn project to electrify its product range.
Wholesale volumes for the quarter were 93,253 units (excluding the Chery Jaguar Land Rover China JV), up 30% compared to the same quarter a year ago.
Wholesales were slightly lower (down 1%) compared to the prior quarter ending March 31 2023 reflecting shipping schedules, while production was up quarter on quarter.
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Retail sales were broadly flat (down 1%) compared to the prior quarter ending March 31 2023. Compared to the prior year, retail volumes were higher in the overseas (up 83%), North America (up 42%), China (up 40%) and UK (up 6%) regions while flat in Europe (0%).
By model, retail sales of the three most profitable models were up significantly compared to the same quarter a year ago with Range Rover up 199%, Range Rover Sport up 42% and Defender up 90%.
JLR said: “The order book remained strong with over 185,000 client orders at quarter end, reducing from 200,000 at, March 31, 2023 in line with expectations, as chip and other supply constraints continue to improve.
“Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender demand remains particularly strong, representing 76% of the order book.”
The company will report full financial results for the first quarter later in July. Based on preliminary cash balances, JLR expects to report positive free cash flow of more than £400m in the quarter.