2:35 pm, January 11, 2021
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) suffered a fall in sales of close to a quarter in 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic continued to affect business.
In total, JLR sold 425,974 cars across the globe during 2020 – a 23.6 per cent decrease on 2019’s figure.
This was made up of 102,494 sales from Jaguar, though Land Rover took the bulk of registrations with 323,480 vehicles shifted. They represented declines of 36.5 and 18.3 per cent respectively on 2019’s figures.
Felix Brautigam, Jaguar Land Rover chief commercial officer, said: ‘2020 was a year of two halves and, although Covid-19 continues to significantly impact the global auto industry, we are delighted to end the year with a second consecutive quarter of sales recovery.
‘Our performance in China, the region least impacted by Covid-19 in the most recent quarter, has been particularly encouraging with our sales there growing on both a year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter basis. Other markets are also showing strong signs of recovery, despite second Covid waves across the globe.’
Land Rover’s sales grew to 16,286 in October to December, up 66 per cent on the preceding quarter. New Defender 90 helped the rise
It comes as JLR was heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting industry shutdown, though some growth has been posted by the firm as it begins to show signs of recovery.
In total, the company sold 128,469 cars in the last three months of 2020, representing a 13.1 per cent increase on the previous financial quarter. However, it still stood as a nine per cent fall year-on-year.
Sales in China for the final quarter of 2020 swelled by 19.1 per cent year-on-year, with sales in Europe dropping by 16.3 per cent in the same period.
Jaguar’s fortunes were also boosted by the electric I-Pace, which saw an increase in sales of 69.3 per cent year-on-year, with 7,807 vehicles sold in the final quarter of the year.
Land Rover’s sales grew to 16,286 in October to December, up 66 per cent on the preceding quarter. The firm puts this down to the introduction of the new Defender 90.
Brautigam added: ‘We are well-placed in keeping our retailers open for business with online sales solutions, even when their doors are closed through lockdowns. This is also evidenced by the Land Rover website being ranked #1 in the most recent J.D. Power Study.
‘An online ordering system in many markets enables people to reserve their vehicle digitally from home. Combined with safe, sanitised click and collect delivery options, this gives Jaguar and Land Rover customers ultimate convenience and flexibility.’
- Join our breaking news WhatsApp group – Click here to join now
- Car Dealer Podcast – Listen to the latest episode here
- Car Dealer Top 100 – The most profitable car dealers in the UK here
