Jaguar Land Rover plans to grow its Indian retail network from 32 outlets to 40 by year-end. "It's not aggressive; we are playing catch-up, actually," said Managing Director Rajan Amba at the opening of Navnit Motors' relocated outlet in Bandra Kurla Complex.
Amba attributes the expansion to narrowing a gap with rivals that already run 50 to 60. "We grew from 2.5 to 6.5 [thousand units] in three years without any expansion. Zero expansion."
The Mumbai outlet is a crucial part of the JLR network, which averages 45 to 50 units a month, or around 600 a year, according to JLR. Recent openings in Goa, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Ranchi and Mangaluru are returning results that "frankly beat our expectations", the JLR India head noted. He cautioned that "it's early days, so I don't want to get too excited." However, he did not reveal any volume details, offering only that "we are a second half of the year company."
The push is not limited to new markets. JLR relocated its Delhi dealership, run in partnership with AMP Motors, to a larger integrated facility on Mathura Road and opened an outlet in Gurugram, PTI reported on October 18. The facility "reflects our unwavering focus on delivering world-class retail and after-sales services in key growth markets," Amba was quoted as saying.
Customers Before Volume
JLR tracks dealers on 20 metrics, and volume is "just a small part" of them, according to Amba. "What's important is the quality of the business." Buyers wait three to six months for delivery depending on the model, so holding on to them through the wait is itself measured. Customers also increasingly call and ask for a car to be brought to them rather than walk into a showroom, he explained, which puts call centres and test-drive logistics on the scorecard.
Navnit serves "people from the film fraternity, people from the design, from the real estate, from various industries", he added. The dealer has won JLR's retailer award three years running, judged on efficiency and productivity rather than size.
Lower Volume, Higher Revenue
However, retail sales fell 2% to 6,031 units in FY26, company data showed, while revenue grew about 14%. Management said supply, not demand, was the constraint after a cyber incident at JLR's global operations disrupted production. Retail sales then rose 11% to 1,665 units in the June quarter, PTI reported.
Management believes JLR India can grow 20% to 25% in FY27 if supply conditions remain stable.