China 'to be JLR's biggest market'

April 23: Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth expects China to become the company's biggest market by the end of 2012: “Currently it is third after UK and America, but it could become the biggest market by the end of this year. That’s why we must produce cars with the Chinese market specifically.”

The biggest-selling JLR dealership in the world is based in Beijing, and is set to sell around 1,800 vehicles over the next twelve months, including 30-40 XJs per month when the new V6 petrol is introduced.

Currently there are 125 Jaguar Land Rover dealerships in China and that number will grow to 140 by the second quarter of 2013.

In the UK the company’s expansion of its Halewood facility is going strong. According to Speth, there have been around 35,000 applications for the 1,000 jobs that have been created by the high demand for the new Evoque.

Speth said that “I am happy with the standard of skilled applicants we’ve received at Halewood. We still need more engineers in different subjects, but I think the skill-shortage is gradually changing.”

Vicky Parrott, Autocar UK