7:30 am, July 10, 2022
Jaguar Land Rover suffered a 37 per cent sales drop during its first financial quarter of the year, thanks mainly to the global semiconductor shortage.
Figures newly released showed it shifted 78,825 vehicles for the three months ending June 30 – down almost 46,000 on the 124,537 vehicles of the corresponding quarter last year.
It added that the drop was compounded by the run-out of the earlier Range Rover Sport, with deliveries just starting, and the impact of Covid lockdowns in China, which affected local production and shut some dealerships temporarily.
But the wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors expects sales to improve over the rest of the financial year as chip supplies gradually get better
The figure was 183 units lower than the immediately preceding quarter, ending March 31.
Of the 78,825 units, 15,207 were Jaguars and 63,618 were Land Rovers – a 48 per cent year-on-year drop for the former and a 33 per cent drop for the latter.
The Jaguar figure was four per cent up against the previous quarter but Land Rover’s was one per cent down.
JLR said that set against the previous quarter, retails were 10 per cent higher in the UK and 49 per cent higher across Europe but were 30 per cent down in North America, five per cent lower in China and 10 per cent down elsewhere overseas.
It attributed that to the transition to new models and delivery times to the markets.
Wholesale volumes were 71,815 units for the period, discounting its China Joint Venture – a figure that was six per cent down compared with the quarter ending March 31, 2022 and 15 per cent down on 2021’s first quarter.
It added that it continued seeing strong demand for its products, with global retail orders setting new records for the quarter once again.
As of June 30, JLR’s total order book had grown to nearly 200,000 units – up by some 32,000 from March 31.
It added: ‘Demand for the New Range Rover, New Range Rover Sport and Defender is particularly strong, with over 62,000, 20,000 and 46,000 orders respectively.’
JLR expects to report its unaudited results for the three months ending June 30 in late July.
