Jaguar Land Rover finish the year significantly higher, but warns on the coming year of trading difficulties.

Jaguar Land Rover said sales rose 7 percent to a record 621,109 vehicles in 2017 but the automaker warned it faces tough conditions in its UK home market due to weakening consumer confidence and a planned diesel tax hike on new cars.

December registrations rose 1 percent to 55,697.

Jaguar sales rose 20 percent to 178,601 over the year and were up 8 percent in December to 15,079. Land Rover volume increased 2 percent to 442,508 in 2017, and rose 4 percent to 40,618 last month.

Since being bought by India's Tata group from Ford Motor in 2008, Jaguar Land Rover has pursued a major turnaround plan to refresh and expand its model lineup and to increase volumes to around 1 million by the turn of the decade.

It said growth in China, its largest market, and in the U.S. helped to offset difficult conditions in the UK and the rest of Europe.

"We have once again delivered year-on-year sales increases thanks to a world-class product range and new models such as the E-Pace and Velar, as well as China-specific models such as the XFL," group sales operations director Andy Goss said in a statement on Monday.

"But we are facing tough times in key markets such as the UK where consumer confidence and diesel taxes will hit us," Goss said.

However, JLR does expect domestic sales to rise this year from 2017's 118,000 vehicles.

Britain's car industry body said last week that 2017 sales across the sector recorded their biggest drop since 2009, blaming plans to increase a levy on new diesel cars from April and weakening consumer confidence in the wake of Brexit.

Like the rest of the UK car industry, Jaguar Land Rover faces uncertainty over possible tariffs or customs delays if Britain fails to secure a favorable Brexit deal before the country leaves the European Union in March 2019.

Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond said in November that the vehicle excise duty would rise from April for those buying almost any new diesel car, potentially costing hundreds of pounds more for top-end models.

Around 90 percent of JLR sales in Britain are diesel models, which compares with around 45 percent globally.

Separately, Goss said JLR will have to decide in the next 12 months whether to build electric cars in its home market. The company's first EV, the I-Pace, will be produced in Austria by contractor Magna Steyr.

Automotive News Europe contributed to this report

REPORT HERE

JLR has stated it aims to increase the number of ex-service staff employed across the world to 1000 by 2020.

• UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer aims to deliver a five-fold increase on ex-service recruitment in the next four years.
• Renewed commitment to skills and training opens up new opportunities and careers to military heroes.
• Move supports the company’s ambition to become the employer of choice for service leavers.
• New North American Veterans programme is a significant milestone and signals the expansion of programmes offered by the Jaguar Land Rover Learning Academy.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that it aims to increase the number of ex-service men and women employed across its global operations to 1000 by 2020 - a five-fold increase on recruitment since 2013. 

This news came as the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer welcomed the start of the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando, Florida. 

The company has been Presenting Partner of the Invictus Games since the inaugural event in London in 2014 and has committed to continuing its support for the 2017 Games to be held in Toronto, Canada.

Ian Harnett, Executive Director of Human Resources at Jaguar Land Rover said: “It is fitting that this announcement comes ahead of the Invictus Games, an inspirational event that demonstrates the resilience and dedication of those in the armed forces.  

I am immeasurably proud that through our company, and the Jaguar Land Rover Learning Academy, we have been able to give hundreds of ex-service personnel the opportunity to rebuild their lives and careers.

“As the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer and a growing global business, we have an obligation to advance the skills and capability of the industry, and in doing so, provide opportunities for passionate people to unleash their full potential. 

That is why we are making it our mission to see the number of people recruited into our business from the military increase significantly in the coming years”.

Jaguar Land Rover has a long and proud history of supporting the military and today’s announcement further supports the company’s ambition to become the employer of choice for those leaving the forces.  

Jaguar Land Rover recognises that skilled and talented people, such as those who have served in the forces, will enable it to deliver long-term sustainable growth.

A significant step in realising its targets is the introduction of a new programme to train and recruit up to 180 veterans across the company’s North American retail network. This initiative has been developed with CALIBRE Systems Inc.* and is the first major military programme for the company outside the UK.

At home, Jaguar Land Rover has recruited more than 200 ex-service men and women since it pledged its support to the 2014 Invictus Games. Some of these joined the business following training delivered through the Jaguar Land Rover Learning Academy. Created to provide ‘lifelong learning’ opportunities not only to its employees globally, but to others seeking bright futures in the automotive industry, the Academy delivers bespoke programmes for service leavers.

Since 2015 more than 30 service personnel have participated in the ‘Inspiring Tomorrow’s Workforce’ and ‘Wounded, Injured and Sick’** (WIS) programmes with 75 per cent of these finding roles at Jaguar Land Rover. Many others have gone on to find jobs in our supply chain and wider industry.

One such recruit is Luke Darlington, who participated in the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014. Luke, who served with 42 Commando, Royal Marines, suffered multiple serious injuries whilst on tour in Afghanistan. 

An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) caused a severe shrapnel wound to his brain, leading to weeks in an induced coma and brain surgery to remove an abscess caused by infection. He went through months of strenuous rehabilitation at Headley Court and the Queen Elizabeth II Brain Injury Centre, but his short military service came to an end.

In November 2015 Luke joined the WIS programme, having heard about it during the Invictus Games. 

Luke said:“I was at home and feeling very depressed as I was not achieving anything in my day to day life. The WIS programme allowed me to develop new skills and re-ignite old ones which I had used in the military.  I had not appreciated just how relevant experience in the Royal Marines could be to an automotive company. 

Since completing my training with Jaguar Land Rover my confidence has grown. I feel worthwhile again”.

Luke spent ten weeks on the programme on the Land Rover Defender production line and 4 in other functions across the business. So impressed were the team that, they offered him a permanent position as a Production Leader in Europe’s largest aluminium body shop at the Solihull manufacturing plant. 

Luke said: “The sense of achievement of being offered the job was fantastic, I felt like I belonged again. I had a sense of pride and purpose which was missing from my life, something I thought I was never going to get back once I left the Marines. 

The support I had from Jaguar Land Rover, the Royal Marines Charity, the RBL and Mission Motorsport was fantastic and I would recommend the programme to anybody”.

Jaguar Land Rover’s work, as a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, continues to push boundaries and led to the company being presented with a gold award for its active support of the Armed Forces. 

The firm also continues its support of service charities including Mission Motorsport, Help for Heroes, Rally for Heroes, ABF The Soldiers' Charity and individual regimental associations. 

In October, the company sponsored the Walking With the Wounded Walk of Britain to raise awareness and retraining of wounded veterans leaving the Armed Forces. 

Tracker announces that the Defender from Land Rover has seen a 75% increase in thefts since production ceased.

• TRACKER joins NFU Mutual in urging owners to boost their vehicle security
• www.tracker.co.uk

Shocking new statistics from NFU Mutual, reveal that thefts of Land Rover Defenders have increased by a staggering 75%, as gangs of thieves target rural areas to swipe vehicles.   The Defender ceased production in January, which has led to a significant rise in demand for the car and its parts.  

Backing NFU Mutual’s campaign to warn Land Rover owners to be vigilant, TRACKER, the UK’s leading stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) provider, adds that many of these stolen vehicles are being shipped overseas, and urges owners to fit a tracking device before they disappear for good, as recommended by NFU Mutual. 

Police forces across the UK are reporting a rise in thefts, with many fearing that criminal gangs with links to the US and Eastern Europe are targeting owners.   

Land Rover Defender owners are being advised to improve their security by investing several layers of protection, including trackers, alarms and steering-wheel locks.  NFU Mutual is also advising owners to mark components with paint and to keep vehicles locked up or parked in well-lit areas.  

Following this advice will substantially increase the chances of these classic 4x4s being located and recovered.

Adrian Davenport, Police Liaison Manager for TRACKER, part of the Tantalum Corporation, says, “Criminal gangs often target particular vehicles when demand increases and the Land Rover Defender is a popular vehicle all around the globe. 

Not surprisingly, since they’ve been discontinued, the Defender has risen to the top of the car thief’s hit list, with the northeast, southwest and the midlands reported to be where the highest number of insurance claims are being made.

“Owners of Defenders tend to live in rural areas, so well-lit parking isn’t always possible, making it vital that people ensure they take ample security measures.  

A tracking device won’t stop a car being stolen, but it can significantly increase the chance of police locating and returning a vehicle to its owners. 

Without a TRACKER fitted, Land Rover Defenders can be hidden in containers without detection and shipped abroad by organised criminal gangs who will make a tidy profit.  Don’t make it easy for thieves, fit a TRACKER device to help police close the net on the criminals.”

TRACKER’s SVR systems work like an electronic homing device. A covert transmitter is hidden in one of several dozen places around the vehicle, and there is no visible aerial, so the thief won’t even know it’s there.

Unlike any other provider of SVR devices, some TRACKER products combines GSM, GPS and VHF technology, and its use of VHF technology makes it resilient to ‘jamming’, creating the most robust SVR device available.   

Jamming devices, readily available on the internet, are increasingly being used by car thieves to disrupt GPS signals so that the police are unable to track and locate stolen vehicles fitted with SVR devises that rely on GPS alone.

Adrian Davenport concludes:  “We strongly advise Land Rover Defender owners to choose a system that provides a more resilient solution and, better still, one that delivers multiple means of location and communication. TRACKER’s SVR systems use unique VHF technology, offering motorists effective safeguards against theft, even if the GPS does fail.”

USA - JLR has given the Pride of Jaguar & Land Rover Pinnacle Club Retailer Excellence awards to selected dealers.

Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC is proud to honor 32 of its U.S. retailers with the Pride of Jaguar and Land Rover Pinnacle Club Retailer Excellence awards.

The Pride of Jaguar and Land Rover Pinnacle Club awards are given annually to retailers who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence and the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. 

Last year, sixteen retailers were selected from each brand based upon their top performance in three core business categories: customer advocacy, sales and business excellence.

"Jaguar and Land Rover retailers are recognized as leaders in both customer service and sales satisfaction, and we are delighted to honor these deserving retailers for their outstanding leadership in both," says Joe Eberhardt, President & CEO, Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC. "Providing an exceptional and unique experience for our customers is something we take tremendous pride in."

Pride of Jaguar Award Recipients:

• Jaguar Plano
• Jaguar San Juan Texa
• Alpine Jaguar
• Barrett Jaguar
• Jake Kaplan's LTD.
• Imperial Motors Jaguar of Lake Bluff
• Jaguar Fox Valley
• Crown Jaguar
• Jaguar Fort Myers
• Harper Jaguar
• Jaguar Palm Beach
• Jaguar Southwest Houston
• Haron Jaguar
• Rusnak / Pasadena
• Gaudin Jaguar
• Paretti Jaguar of Baton Rouge

Land Rover Pinnacle Club Award Recipients:

• Land Rover Tampa
• Land Rover Austin
• Land Rover San Antonio
• Land Rover Cape Fear
• Land Rover San Juan Texas
• Land Rover Frisco
• Land Rover Fort Myers
• Land Rover Grand Rapids
• Land Rover Fort Lauderdale
• Land Rover Dallas
• Land Rover Las Vegas
• Land Rover Hinsdale
• Land Rover North HillsLand Rover Warwick
• Land Rover Fox Valley
• Land Rover Roaring Forks

Jaguar and Land Rover have a combined network of 330 retailers across the U.S.

Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles today reported its best ever January.

Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading manufacturer of premium luxury vehicles today reported its best ever January retail sales of 46,016 vehicles, up 24% on January 2015.

Retail sales for the month of January were up year-on-year across all regions: 65% in Europe, 36% in the UK, 9% in North America, and 5% in China.  Other overseas markets were up 15% year-on-year.

Commenting on the performance, Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director said: “Following our best full year global sales in 2015, this is a great start to the new year, with very strong performance from both brands and across all of our key regions. Europe and the UK retailed almost 20,000 vehicles this month alone, driven by solid sales of the XE and the Discovery Sport.

"Similarly, in China market response to the locally-produced Discovery Sport was very positive with retails of almost 3,000 in its second month of sales.”

Marking its best January yet, Land Rover retailed 38,075 vehicles in the month, up 20% year-on-year. Best-sellers for the month were the Range Rover Evoque, retailing 9,729 vehicles and the Discovery Sport, with retails of 9,486 in the month. Demand for the iconic Defender has been very strong in its last month of production, with its best January performance in over a decade.

Jaguar had its best January performance since 2005, delivering 7,941 vehicles, up 44% on the previous year, due to continued solid sales of the XE (3,673 vehicles). Europe and the UK recorded outstanding year-on-year growth of 131% and 184%, respectively, for the month of January and retails in the Overseas region were 22% up year-on-year. 

USA SALES JANUARY - Jaguar Land Rover sees continued growth, with both brands showing a 7% increase.

• Jaguar Land Rover U.S. January sales increase 7 percent for best January sales month since 2002
• Land Rover up 7 percent for January making it the best January sales month ever
• Jaguar XF and F-TYPE have their best ever January sales

Jaguar Land Rover North America today reported January 2016 U.S. sales: Land Rover sales reached 5,655 units, a 7 percent increase from 5,281 units in January 2015; Jaguar sales were 1,352 units, a 7 percent increase from 1,266 units in January 2015. Jaguar Land Rover North America January U.S. sales for both brands hit 7,007 units, a 7 percent increase from 6,547 units in January 2015.

For the full year 2015, Jaguar Land Rover U.S. sales were up 26 percent with 85,048 units sold compared to 67,238 units sold in 2014. Land Rover brand U.S. sales reached a new all-time high of 70,582 units, an increase of 37 percent and surpassing last year's sales of 51,465 units.  Due to new model changeover, Jaguar U.S, sales were down 8 percent with 14,466 in 2015 versus 15,773 units in 2014.

"After celebrating 2015, a landmark year for Jaguar Land Rover in the United States, we are kicking off 2016 in similar fashion with sales increases across both brands for January," said Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover, North America, LLC.

U.S. BRAND HIGHLIGHTS

Land Rover

For the month of January, Land Rover sales hit 5,655 units sold, up seven percent from 5,281 units sold in January 2015.

The Range Rover hit 1,475 units in January vs. 1,481 units sold in January 2015.The Range Rover Sport hit 1,361 units.

The LR 4 hit 846 units sold, up 39 percent from 609 units in 2015.

The 2016 Land Rover model line-up features five models: The Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque, both powered by 240-hp turbocharged 2.0-liter engines; the LR4, powered by a 340-hp supercharged V6 engine; and the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport available with five powertrain options - a 340-hp supercharged V6 petrol, a 380-hp supercharged V6 petrol, a 510-hp supercharged V8 petrol, a 550-hp supercharged V8 petrol and a new 254-hp turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 diesel.

Jaguar

For the month of January, Jaguar sales hit 1,352 units, up 7 percent from 1,266 units in January 2015.

The Jaguar XF and F-TYPE had their best ever January sales month, with 726 and 333 units sold, respectively.

The 2016 Jaguar line-up features three models. Receiving its mid-cycle refresh for 2016, the full-size Jaguar XJ sedan, available with three powertrain options - a 340-HP supercharged V6, a 470-hp supercharged V8 and a 550-hp supercharged V8 - is offered in both standard and long wheelbase lengths in both rear- and all-wheel drive configurations. Completely redesigned for the 2016 model year, the mid-size Jaguar XF sedan is offered with two supercharged V6 powertrains producing 340- and 380-hp and is  available with rear- or all-wheel drive. The 2016 Jaguar F-TYPE is newly available with options of all-wheel drive and a manual transmission. Available powertrains include two supercharged V6 engines producing 340- and 380-hp and a 550-hp supercharged V8 all available in both in coupe and convertible body styles across four trim levels. 

Starting with 2016 model year vehicles, the Jaguar brand will have an improved competitive value position via steps such as increased standard equipment or new lower MSRP choices by model. Also starting in model year 2016, all Jaguar models will come standard with Jaguar EliteCare, an ownership package with class-leading five-years or 60,000-mile warranty, complimentary scheduled maintenance coverage, roadside assistance and Jaguar InControl^® Protect & Remote^TM2. Beginning in the spring of 2016, the Jaguar brand value story further transforms with two new entry luxury vehicles, the 2017 Jaguar XE compact luxury sedan, starting at $34,900¹,  and the 2017 Jaguar F-PACE compact luxury SUV, starting at $40,990¹.

¹ All prices shown are Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price. Excludes $995 destination/handling charge, tax, title, license, and retailer fees, all due at signing, and optional equipment. Retailer price, terms and vehicle availability may vary. See your local authorized Jaguar Retailer for details.

Defender models see's pricing increases on the second hand market now the model has been discontinued.

Fans of the iconic Land Rover Defender who rushed to buy a piece of history are proving to have made a smart investment decision as prices soar. 

Automotive valuation specialists cap say good examples are demanding a huge premium over new list price. 

Commenting on the trend, John Watts, senior editor at Cap said: “We have already started to see an upward movement in trade values for Defender in general due to the anticipated demand and potential shortage following the cessation of production. Over the longer term we expect retail buyers to keep their vehicles longer because they know that finding a replacement will be nigh on impossible.

“Defender 90 versions are expected to be the highlight of the range since this model is closest to the original first production versions and Defender with a “premium” conversion will do exceptionally well.” 

Cap say a three year old Defender 90 Hard Top with 30,000 miles was valued at £11600 average trade price last June, and now the equivalent aged model is £12300. 

Dealers are demanding huge premiums for nearly new vehicles. 

A Land Rover Defender 90 2.2d 3 dr, with 1,000 miles on the clock, which cost £17,000 + VAT new, is now listed on Autotrader at £30,000. 

VIEW SALE HERE

Land Rover dealer Ross Munro, from LR Motors in North Yorkshire said: “Nearly new or pre-registred models of Defender are selling for 20% beyond list price and we are seeing some owners asking more. And with 75% of Defenders ever built still on the road, they could prove to be a smart move for investors or enthusiasts.”

Defender has attracted a thriving aftermarket with specialist companies such as Twisted producing enhanced vehicles with prices up to £150,000. 

Twisted say they have seen enquiries jump by 30%, with interest coming from business people and celebrities around the world.