Accelerating profits hit £2.6bn at JLR

Jaguar Land Rover has revealed its profits rose to £2.6 billion over the last year as it gears up for the launch of its Black Country-powered XE Jaguar.

The West Midlands-based luxury carmaker has spent more than £3 billion on its factories and new cars, including its engine plant on the i54 site, alongside the M54, over the last year.

It is now planning to spend up to £3.8 billion in the coming year after revealing plans to almost double the size of its i54 site, which could create another 1,000 jobs, as it launches more new cars including a convertible Evoque and the Jaguar F-Pace crossover.

Most of the upcoming cars will be fitted with engines from the plant, on the border of Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire.

Over the 12 months to the end of March JLR sold 462,209 cars, earning £21.87 billion in revenue – up £2.48bn on the previous year.

The company now sells more than one in four of all its cars in China – its biggest single marketplace.

It helped boost pre-tax profits by 4.5 per cent to £2.6 billion as JLR delivered its fifth year of solid growth.

Although earnings were higher profits were held back by foreign exchange costs, which meant profits actually fell in the last three months of the year.

Chief executive Ralf Speth said: "Jaguar Land Rover has delivered five years of solid financial results, enabling us to invest in our long-term future.

"This has positioned the company strategically and financially for continued sustainable growth.

"The past year has been one of significant achievement, with the expansion of our vehicle ranges and our manufacturing footprint.

"We are committed to delivering further growth this year, maintaining our relentless pace of launching new models and introducing innovative technologies for our discerning customers around the world."

As well as the planned expansion at Wolverhampton JLR has spent £400m on its Castle Bromwich plant to make the new Jaguar XF.

In April it opened its £500m "factory within a factory" at Solihull .

It was there it started to make the Jaguar XE, which is scheduled to go on sale next month.