Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover reports a big rise in sales volumes in the final three months of 2023. Tony McDonough reports

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) ended 2023 on a high with rises in both wholesale and retail sales volumes.

In the three months to December 31, the third quarter of its fiscal year, JLR said wholesale volumes were 101,043 vehicles (excluding the Chery JLR China JV), up 27% year-on-year and up 4% compared to the quarter ended September 30.

Retail sales for the quarter were 109,140 units (including the Chery JLR China JV), up 29% year-on-year and up 2% compared to the quarter ended September 30.

Retail volumes were higher in all regions year-on-year: UK up 55%, overseas up 49%, China up 28%, Europe up 27% and North America up 6%.

JLR operates the Halewood factory in Merseyside where more than 3,500 workers assemble the Range Rover, Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. It has pledged a £15bn investment to create a new generation of electric vehicles.

In its latest trading update the company said: “The order book continues to reflect strong demand for JLR products with 148,000 client orders at the end of the third quarter.

“This has reduced from 168,000 at the end of the second quarter, reflecting increased order fulfilment to clients and resulting in improved client waiting times for our highly desirable vehicles.

“Demand for Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender remains particularly strong, representing 76% of the order book.”

JLR will report full financial results for the quarter at the beginning of February. In November JLR said revenues in the second quarter of its fiscal year totalled £6.9bn, up 30% from the same period in 2022.

It meant that half-year revenues in the six month to September 30 stood at a record £13.8bn. This is 42% up from 2022. JLR says supply constraints have continued to ease, enabling more vehicles to be delivered to customers.