Jaguar Land Rover posts strong Q2 sales as China and key markets buck slowdown

Jaguar Land Rover has reported strong retail sales for the three-month period ended 30 September 2020. While they are significantly improved from sales in the preceding quarter, the Covid-induced impact remains.

Retail sales for Q2 FY2021 (July-September 2020) were 113,569 vehicles, up over 50% from sales of 74,067 units in the prior quarter, while down 11.9% from pre-Covid levels a year ago. China sales were particularly encouraging, up 14.6% on the prior quarter and 3.7% year-on-year. The month of September also saw sales up 28.5% year-on-year in China.

Retail sales for other regions also significantly improved from the prior quarter, including the UK (+231.6%), Europe (+78.8%), North America (+21.3%) and Overseas (+35.1%). However, sales in these regions have not yet recovered to pre-Covid levels a year ago: UK (-2.9%), North America (- 15.8%), Europe (-19.8%) and Overseas markets (-30.3%). The launch of the exciting new Land Rover Defender continued and sales gained pace in the quarter, rising to 4,508 units in September.

Despite the pandemic, JLR sasy it is on track to launch planned new products and announced the new model year Jaguar F-Pace and Range Rover Velar, both now with mild-hybrid (MHEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variants. This brings the number of models offering PHEVs and MHEVs to seven each, with one more PHEV and four further MHEVs to be announced this year.

Jaguar Land Rover says it will be releasing its financial results for the quarter to 30 September 2020 later this month. The company ended September with about £3 billion  (Rs 271,77 crore) of cash and short-term deposits, up £0.3 billion, primarily reflecting positive free cash flow as expected in the quarter. Total liquidity was about £5 billion (Rs 45,295 crore), including the company’s £1.9 billion (Rs 17,212 crore) revolving credit facility, which remains undrawn.

Felix Brautigam, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer, said: “Covid-19 and second lockdowns continue to impact the global auto industry but we are pleased to see sales recovering across our markets. In China, the first region to come out of lockdown, our performance has been particularly encouraging. But we are also seeing strong improvement versus the preceding quarter in other key markets, with sales up more than 50% worldwide. The recovery has been demand-led and we are delighted that we have been able to reduce stocks to achieve ideal levels in most markets, despite the ongoing pandemic, to support a healthier and more profitable business for Jaguar Land Rover and its retailers. For Jaguar, the multi-award winning all-electric I-Pace saw sales surge 78% year-on-year in the UK in the second quarter. The E-Pace, Jaguar’s first sporty compact crossover, saw year-on-year growth in North America and China.”

“At Land Rover, the launch of the new Defender continues across the world with promising sales in all of our regions. The Land Rover Discovery and Discovery Sport performed particularly well in the UK. And in China, we were very pleased with sales of the Range Rover, celebrating its 50th birthday this year, the new Range Rover Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. During the quarter we continued our ambitious roll-out of electrification to meet recovering demand. This included the launch of plug-in hybrid versions of the Range Rover Evoque, Land Rover Discovery Sport and Defender. In addition, our brand new smooth, torque-rich six-cylinder diesel with mild-hybrid technology debuted in the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.”