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West Midlands-built cars power Jaguar to record-breaking sales

Latest figures reveal 2016 was the Year of the Jag, as the West Midlands-built cars accelerated to record-breaking sales.

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A string of new Jaguars, with their diesel engines made in Wolverhampton, boosted the brand to a huge 45 per cent sales rise last year – a record breaking figure of 34,822 cars in its most successful ever year.

Sister brand Land Rover was up 19.5 per cent, making Jaguar Land Rover the big winner in the UK car sales stakes for 2016, with 117,567 vehicles driven off showroom forecourts up and down the land.

News of the UK success came just after JLR revealed a record year in the US, where sales rose to 105,104, up 24 per cent. Jaguar's US sales more than doubled, thanks to its F-Pace, XE and XF models.

  • MORE: See how the best selling F-Pace all comes together

All three cars use the 2.0 litre Ingenium diesels made at the i54 factory on the border of Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire, where the workforce is now close to its 1,400 target.

Meanwhile JLR is doubling the size of the plant with a major building project due for completion later this year, while production of new petrol engines is ramping up at the site.

Jaguar Land Rover is expected to confirm in the next few days that 2016 was the most successful year in its history for sales of its cars around the world. Around 80 per cent of the vehicles it makes at Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood go for export.

Meanwhile the Range Rover Evoque has also enjoyed its best year yet with sales up 31% on 2015, while the introduction of Ingenium engines helped boost sales of the Discovery Sport by 44%.
Rachael Thompson, Jaguar Land Rover UK sales director, said: “We are absolutely delighted with this result, it’s been an incredible year for both Jaguar and Land Rover in the UK. It shows that we are creating vehicles that excite, appealing to loyal buyers and bringing new customers to these two great brands.
“There is no better example of this than the Jaguar F-Pace which has been a huge success since its April launch, with more than 8,000 making their way onto UK driveways. Already the fastest-selling Jaguar ever, it has gained critical acclaim for its stunning looks and sporting performance. For Land Rover, the Range Rover Evoque continues to break records, enjoying its best year yet, with sales up an impressive 31% on 2015.
“With the reveal of the I-Pace concept and new Discovery, 2017 looks set to be another exciting year for the Jaguar Land Rover business.”
Meanwhile overall annual new car sales in the UK have reached an all-time high for a second consecutive year – but are expected to fall in 2017, according to the industry trade association.

Some 2.69 million cars were registered in the UK last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

This is up by 2.3 per cent on 2015.

The organisation's chief executive, Mike Hawes, said growth was due to "very strong" consumer confidence, low interest finance packages and a raft of new models.

"People are obviously driven by new technologies," he told reporters at a briefing in central London.

"Increasingly people do want to see connectivity. People are wedded to mobile phones. They expect equally to have that connectivity on the move."

Mr Hawes predicted that registrations would decline by "between 5 per cent or 6 per cent" in 2017, but said this was still "historically an incredibly high level" and insisted it would not represent "a collapse in the market".

He said five consecutive years of increased sales has been fuelled by latent demand built up during the recession.

"We have to recognise that growth can't be inexorable," he said. "There is undoubtedly a levelling off."

More than 85 per cent of new cars bought in the UK are imported and their cost is "gradually going up" due to the reduction in the value of the pound, Mr Hawes said.

Although manufacturers hedge against currency risk and absorb some of the additional costs, there have been price rises of "two per cent or three per cent", he added.

Mr Hawes expects 2017 car sales to be "lumpy", adding that, although the triggering of Article 50 for the UK to leave the EU would "probably not immediately" have an impact on purchasing patterns, he acknowledged that "we have not seen the full effects of Brexit".

Jim Holder, editorial director of magazines Autocar and What Car?, described the 2016 figures as "very positive", saying "the expected Brexit bump was mostly negated".

He said some people within the automotive industry are warning that sales could drop by 10 per cent -15 per cent this year, so manufacturers would be "very pleased" if the SMMT's prediction of a five per cent or six per cent drop-off proved accurate.

He added: "When you're at record levels and you bounce down, I think that's reasonable."

The UK's top selling car for 2016 was the Ford Fiesta - again. The perennially popular hatchback has consistently topped the league table in recent years. 120,525 were snapped up last year, way ahead of the second placed Vauxhall Corsa which sold 77,110.

Despite this, car giants Ford, Vauxhall and Volkswagen all saw their figures dip last year. Alongside Jaguar Lane Rover, the big winners were Mercedes Benz, Renault, Suzuki and BMW, which all saw substantial sales hikes.