Land Rover was the fastest growing car brand in the US last year. The brand sold 70,582 vehicles in 2015, up 37 percent compared to 2014 and beating all other major carmakers in terms of sales growth.
In December alone sales surged by about 50 percent in the region.
A Bloomberg report revealed that the stellar performance of the Land Rover marque in the US made it the country’s fastest growing car brand in 2015.
Joe Eberhardt, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover North America, said: “I think cool Britannia, to some degree, is coming back again,”
Approximately 10 percent of Land Rovers sold in the US last year were Discovery Sports, while the Range Rover Evoque accounted for about 20 percent of sales and the top-of-the-line Range Rover accounted for 25 percent of sales. This data indicates that Land Rover has significant pull in the country’s premium high-end SUV market, with the household income of the average buyer at $450,000.
Increasing demand for Land Rovers in Europe and the US helped push JLR’s total sales figures (worldwide) up 5 percent to 437,512 vehicles in the first eleven months of 2015.
Andy Goss, director of JLR’s group sales operations, commented on JLR’s performance.
Mr. Goss 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.”
The carmaker confirmed that it will be doubling its investment in its engine plant in the UK to almost £1 billion – the largest injection into a new British manufacturing plant in decades.
JLR opening £1 billion manufacturing facility in Slovakia
JLR also made an announcement on Friday that it will become the first British carmaker to open a manufacturing facility in Slovakia.
Construction of the new plant will begin this year. It will manufacture a range of all-new aluminium Jaguar Land Rover vehicles and have an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles.
Dr Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover commented:
“Jaguar Land Rover is delighted today to welcome Slovakia into our family. The new factory will complement our existing facilities in the UK, China, India and Brazil and marks the next step in the company’s strategy to become a truly global business.
“Slovakia has an established premium automotive sector, which represents 43% of the country’s overall industry. It has more than 300 suppliers in close proximity and an excellent logistics infrastructure; this confirmed our decision that this country was the ideal location.
“The heart of our company will always be in the UK, where our design, technology and manufacturing capabilities are based. It is our creativity and innovation which makes Jaguar Land Rover the leading boutique automotive brand, offering exceptional products for our customers.”