Jaguar Land Rover accelerates to all-time sales record

Despite demand dropping off sharply in its key Chinese market, the thirst for its Jaguars and Range Rovers in Europe and the USA pushed up sales figures by five per cent to 487,065. In the UK, sales hit 100,000 for the first time.

It means sales at the West Midlands firm have more than doubled since 2009. At the same time its workforce has also doubled to 37,000, 35,000 of them in the UK.

The massive growth has seen the company announce £450 million plans to double the size of its engine-making plant at Wolverhampton's i54 site.

Already lined up to employ 1,600 people, the expansion will add hundreds more to the engine factory workforce.

Andy Goss, director of JLR's group sales operations, said: "This has been a significant year for Jaguar Land Rover, with updated models being introduced across the range, as well as the addition to our portfolio of the completely new Jaguar XE and Land Rover Discovery Sport.

"Customer response has been extremely positive, resulting in record retails across UK, North America and Europe. The appeal of our Jaguars and Land Rovers has also been recognised through over 95 global awards in 2015, including 15 for the Land Rover Discovery Sport and 19 for the Jaguar XE alone.

"2016 promises to be another exciting year, with the start of sales of the Range Rover Evoque Convertible and the Jaguar F-Pace, along with further all-new and refreshed vehicles."

JLR's figures show Europe was its biggest market last year, with sales of 110,298 vehicles, up 28 per cent of the previous year, while the UK figures were up 21 per cent.

In North America it sold 94,066 cars, a rise of 25 per cent. This growth offset a 24 per cent fall in China and elsewhere. JLR said the 24 per cent sales slump in China was down to "local market conditions, model transitions and the impact of the major industrial explosion at the Chinese port of Tianjin in August".