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

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Andy Murray, Jose Mourinho and a missing trophy, watch the video to raise a smile.

• Seasoned silverware collector, José Mourinho joins forces with two cheeky children to pull trophy heist
• New Jaguar XF Sportbrake takes Andy Murray’s Wimbledon replica trophy on tour of schools and tennis clubs to inspire youngsters
• Jaguar XF Sportbrake combines grace, space and pace for the 21st century – making it the perfect vehicle to carry Murray’s precious trophy
• Dynamic estate will keep the trophy safe and well with gesture control sunblind, cabin air ionisation, isofix points and a suite of driver assistance technology
• 2017 is Jaguar’s third year as Official Car of The Championships, Wimbledon 

José Mourinho has added another trophy to his collection with help from a Jaguar XF, two schoolchildren, some cardboard and a little gold paint.

With a well-known penchant for collecting silverware, Mourinho targeted fellow Jaguar ambassador Andy Murray on the eve of his Wimbledon title defence. The trophy heist was part of a short film to celebrate the launch of the new Jaguar XF Sportbrake and kick off a special Jaguar trophy tour.

To inspire the next generation of grass roots tennis talent, the two-time Wimbledon Champion and world number one has given up his replica men’s singles trophy for a special tour in the XF Sportbrake. The tour will end at Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK (29 June – 2 July) where the trophy and car will be on public display.

The tour takes in schools and tennis clubs in the weeks leading up to The Championships, Wimbledon, 2017 and gives children from all backgrounds the chance to get their hands on Andy’s famous trophy.

Jaguar’s film shows the tour coming to a halt at a London school when Mourinho steals the famous gilt cup. Armed with a cunning plan and some craft supplies, Mourinho and his two young accomplices attempt to steal Murray’s trophy as the reigning champion tries to keep track of his prized cup using the premium estate’s InControl Remote app. 

This advanced technology and connectivity allows customers to monitor the location of their vehicle using a smartphone. Owners can lock or unlock the doors, check the fuel level and even set the cabin temperature remotely.

Andy Murray said: “Apparently, I’m the first winner in the history of Wimbledon to give up their replica trophy like this. It was hard to part with it but it’s for a great cause and I know it’s in safe hands in the XF Sportbrake, especially with its special safety features and technology so I can keep track of it.”

The new Sportbrake joins Jaguar's award-winning XF saloon in its tenth year of production and delivers a compelling combination of design, driving dynamics and advanced technologies to provide traditional Jaguar grace, space and pace.

The dynamic estate is available with Jaguar’s advanced range of clean and efficient four-cylinder Ingenium petrol and diesel engines with CO2 emissions as low as 118g/km. At the top of the range sits a six-cylinder 300PS 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine that sprints to 60mph in 6.1 seconds.

The XF Sportbrake was introduced by Andy Murray on a replica Wimbledon centre court in London earlier this month and is manufactured at Jaguar Land Rover's Castle Bromwich plant alongside the XE, XJ and F-TYPE model lines.

Jaguar is entering its third year as Official Car of The Championships, Wimbledon, which runs from Monday 3 July to Sunday 16 July. During the tournament Jaguar will supply 170 vehicles from its award-winning range, including the XE, XF, XJ and F-PACE.

The Jaguar XF saloon has been named "Best Saloon" in the Golden Steering Wheel Competition.

• Jaguar XF voted ‘Best Saloon’ in Medium-Full-size category
• Jaguar F-PACE takes second place in the Large SUV category

Jaguar has won Germany’s top car award, the Golden Steering Wheel. The Jaguar XF was voted ‘Best Saloon’ in the Mid-Full-size category, ahead of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Volvo S90. 

Jaguar had further reason to celebrate in the Large SUV category, with the F-PACE taking second place.

The Jaguar XF defines the segment with unrivalled design, luxury, technology and efficiency, underpinned by class-leading driving dynamics and refinement. 

With the recent addition of all-wheel drive, the XF offers greater confidence in its all-weather traction and has exceptional total cost of ownership, with class-leading residual values and running costs.

Dr Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover CEO, accepting the Golden Steering Wheel for the Jaguar XF, said:“Winning this prestigious Golden Steering Wheel award in the most demanding automotive market and the toughest premium segment in the world, means a lot to Jaguar Land Rover. The Golden Steering wheel confirms all the efforts of the Jaguar Land Rover team in delivering special, solid products with distinct character that excite the senses.

“I want to thank the experienced readers and seasoned expert jury for their appraisal – and especially the JLR team.”

Jaguar’s first performance SUV, the F-PACE, took a strong second place in the large SUV category. It is designed and engineered to offer the agility, responsiveness and refinement Jaguar is renowned for together with everyday usability that delivers the Ultimate Practical Sports car. The F-PACE has been fantastically received and is Jaguar’s fastest-selling vehicle ever.

For the 41st Golden Steering Wheel Awards, 36 new models competed in six categories. In the first round of voting, millions of readers of Auto Bild and its sister publications in more than 20 European countries, together with the readers of Sunday paper Bild am Sonntag, selected their favourites. After the votes had been counted, the 24 finalists were determined. A 67 strong jury consisting of racing drivers, chief editors, designers and other car experts, thoroughly tested the new models comparing driving dynamics, connectivity, designs and operating costs.

PARIS - One World Premiere, One World Record, One Surprise announcement and the new I-Type, thats Jaguar Land Rover.

• New Land Rover Discovery with unrivalled capability, versatility and technology on show in Paris
• World record at New Discovery world premiere event: 5.8million LEGO bricks in 13m-high Tower Bridge model
• New Jaguar XF Sportbrake confirmed, to be revealed in 2017
• Hollywood star Nicholas Hoult drives Jaguar XF AWD onto Paris Motor Show stand
• Global motor show debut of Jaguar I-TYPE ahead of debut Formula E season

Jaguar Land Rover stole the limelight at the Paris Motor Show with a world premiere, a world record, a surprise announcement and a motorsport debut.

The new Land Rover Discovery was the headline act on the show stand in Paris, fresh from its dramatic unveiling alongside a world record-breaking LEGO model of London’s Tower Bridge. The new Discovery redefines the premium SUV sector, delivering class-leading all-terrain capability and a versatile full-size seven-seat interior in a revolutionary design.

The Jaguar success story continued with confirmation the XF Sportbrake will join the family in 2017 and the brand underlined its commitment to investing in technology for the next generation by showcasing its advanced I-TYPE 1 on the stand.

Dr Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “We have developed a sensational line-up of products of style and substance that empower our customers to make more of their world.”

Picture courtesy of Theophiluschin.com - this is a possible look to the next gen XF Sportbrake and not to be confused by the actual car, however this fits the bill rather nicely.

A modern Discovery in every sense

New Discovery arrived in Paris after a spectacular unveiling on a 13-metre high LEGO version of London’s Tower Bridge. The magnificent model set a new Guinness World Record for the largest ever LEGO structure, using 5.8million bricks.

The globally renowned family toy created the perfect playground for the new SUV at Packington Hall in Warwickshire, close to the brand’s Solihull home. Land Rover customers Bear Grylls, Sir Ben Ainslie, and Zara Phillips OBE were also part of the event.

Gerry McGovern, Land Rover Chief Design Officer, said: “This is a modern Discovery in every sense, designed to accommodate seven full-sized adults. This well-proportioned, sure-footed vehicle will establish new standards for the Discovery family.”

World-first technologies debuted by Land Rover’s new premium SUV include Intelligent Seat Fold, which allows customers to remotely reconfigure the second- and third-row seats using a smartphone.

The digital New Discovery is equipped with up to nine USB ports, six 12-volt charging points and an in-car WiFi hotspot for up to eight devices. Additionally Jaguar Land Rover’s newly announced Spotify app offers readily available ‘music for every moment’ radio and personalised playlists based on users’ tastes and in-car listening habits.

New Discovery continues a 27-year story of innovation. Jaguar Land Rover is leading the software engineering revolution at the forefront of the shift from cogs to code, illustrated by the investment in electrical engineering which has trebled over the last five years from £99m to £301m.

Jaguar at Paris: new Jaguar XF Sportbrake confirmed

Jaguar confirmed in Paris the production of a new model. Speaking on the show stand, Andy Goss, Sales Operations Director, said: “There are going to be more additions to the Jaguar family in 2017 and I can confirm that one of these will be the new XF Sportbrake.”

Camouflaged prototypes of the new XF Sportbrake are already undergoing testing and development on UK roads ahead of its launch next year.

Goss also referenced the offer of all-wheel drive and advanced traction technologies across the range, making Jaguar vehicles perfect for all markets and all weathers.

He said: “We will continue to grow our reputation as all-weather experts with all-wheel drive available on every vehicle and a toolbox of traction technology to give our drivers confidence whatever the conditions.”

British actor Nicholas Hoult, known for his roles in blockbuster films including Mad Max and the X-Men series, drove a Jaguar XF AWD R-Sport onto the show stand after putting the sports saloon through its paces as part of the Europe-wide Jaguar Art of Performance Tour.

I-TYPE 1: first ever all-electric Jaguar racing car debuts

Jaguar also took the opportunity to showcase its racing credentials as the new I-TYPE 1 racer made its global motor show debut in Paris. In October Panasonic Jaguar Racing will compete in the third FIA Formula E season with the first ever all-electric Jaguar racing car.

The brand’s commitment is to ‘Race to Innovate’ – a mission to change the perception of electric vehicles, to develop new electric technology and to inspire future generations.

Ingenium Powertrains: our most advanced engine ever

Jaguar Land Rover isn’t standing still with its current propulsion systems, expanding its powertrain family with new technologies for both current and future vehicles.

At the heart of its low-emissions strategy, the new four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine is produced at Jaguar Land Rover’s £1billion Engine Manufacturing Centre. Designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK, these are the most advanced engines the company has ever developed. They will deliver up to 25 per cent more power than the units they replace and offer fuel consumption reductions of up to 15 per cent.

Jaguar Land Rover expands the Ingenium family of engines to boost power and reduce emissions, sounds all good to me !

• New powertrain technologies support commitment to reduce vehicle emissions and improve fuel economy  
• All-new Ingenium petrol engines are the most advanced developed by Jaguar Land Rover
• Innovative TRANSCEND transmission boosts off-road performance and reduces CO₂

This week, Jaguar Land Rover will expand its powertrain family, unveiling new technologies for both current and future vehicles. The new additions will support the company’s long-term commitment to reduce vehicle emissions and improve fuel economy across its range through the introduction of more efficient engines along with alternative powertrains, lighter vehicles and improved vehicle energy conservation.

 At the heart of its low-emissions strategy, the new four-cylinder Ingenium petrol engine is now in production at Jaguar Land Rover’s £1 billion Engine Manufacturing Centre. 

Designed, engineered and manufactured in the UK, these are the most advanced engines the company has ever developed. 

They will deliver up to 25 per cent more power than the engines they replace and offer fuel consumption reductions of up to 15 per cent.

Looking to the future, Jaguar Land Rover has developed a revolutionary advanced automatic transmission that will both improve the efficiency of future vehicles and expand their all-wheel drive capability. 

The £30 million advanced research project, TRANSCEND, uses an innovative ultra-wide ratio spread (20:1) that integrates low-range gear box, dual-clutch and hybrid technologies to deliver new levels of off-road performance and fuel economy improvements of nearly 10%.

Nick Rogers, Group Engineering Director, said: “Environmental innovation is at the heart of our strategy to dramatically reduce emissions up to 2020 and beyond. With the Ingenium family of powertrains and advanced research projects such as TRANSCEND, future Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will emit significantly less CO₂. By 2020, new technologies will help us reduce our CO₂emissions by a further 25 per cent.”

Ingenium petrol engines

The Ingenium petrol engine features state-of-the-art technologies, such as an electrohydraulic valvetrain, integrated exhaust manifold and twin scroll turbocharger with ceramic ball bearing technology. They will deliver exceptional performance, efficiency and refinement while meeting the most stringent global emissions regulations.

Nick Rogers said: “Ingenium has been developed as a modular family of powerful, efficient and refined all-aluminum petrol and diesel engines. All Ingenium engines deliver benchmark low levels of friction, contributing to inherently good efficiency and refinement.”

Using a common architecture based on a 500cc per cylinder displacement delivers both maximum flexibility and scaleability. This enables a range of derivatives to be developed to suit applications as diverse as sports saloons and luxury SUVs.

Following the launch of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesels in 2015, these advanced petrol engines become the latest Ingenium engines to enter production and will be available from 2017.

TRANSCEND transmission

TRANSCEND is an advanced research project that combines innovative mechanical design and advanced manufacturing techniques to deliver a compact, lightweight eight-speed transmission with an ultra-wide ratio spread of 20, more than double that of a conventional eight-speed automatics. 

Weighing around 20kg less than existing eight-speed automatics, TRANSCEND could be used in longitudinal rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles.

Nick Rogers said: “TRANSCEND demonstrates Jaguar Land Rover’s commitment to original research that improves the driving experience and the environmental performance of our vehicles. It will make manoeuvring and off-road use easier than ever before for drivers whilst also improving on-road vehicle dynamics and CO₂ emissions.”

With part funding from the UK government, the TRANSCEND programme aims to rebuild the UK’s transmission production - through investment in processes to develop lighter components as well as more energy-efficient manufacturing production - and promote the export of British hybrid vehicle technologies.

Low emissions future

Jaguar Land Rover has made significant investments in new technology and environmental innovation in recent years. Its vision for reducing emissions and improving fuel efficiency is to make improvements in powertrain, continue its leadership in vehicle light-weighting and improve vehicle energy conservation - all without compromise for its customers.

Since 2008, Jaguar Land Rover has doubled the number of powertrain engineers and invested in the research of a range of future powertrain solutions. This team is developing the technology that will help deliver a further 25 per cent improvement in CO2 emissions in the next five years.

Jaguar Land Rover is committed to introducing electrification and has confirmed its electric future with an entry for Jaguar in the innovative FIA Formula E Championship. 

This investment will push the boundaries of electrification technology and provides a real-world, fast-track test bed for future Jaguar Land Rover electrification technology, transferring it from track to road.

Jaguar invests a further £100M at Castle Bromwich, to ultimately move XE and F-Pace production to the existing site.

• Jaguar Land Rover’s Castle Bromwich plant starts production of Jaguar XE
• Move comes in response to F-PACE and XE sales success
• £100m of fresh investment in Birmingham plant reaffirms commitment to British manufacturing
• Announcement demonstrates Jaguar Land Rover’s fully flexible West Midlands manufacturing operations 

Following the huge customer demand for Jaguar’s two latest models, the F-PACE and XE, Jaguar Land Rover today revealed that the mid-sized premium sport sedan, the Jaguar XE, is to be built at Castle Bromwich - marking the return of all Jaguar sports and saloon car manufacturing to the Birmingham plant.

The XE will gradually transfer from its current home at Solihull, demonstrating the inherent flexibility of Jaguar Land Rover’s West Midlands manufacturing operations - the result of more than £1bn of infrastructure investment at Solihull and Castle Bromwich. 

This investment in new press lines, body shops and final assembly halls supports production of the three Jaguar models built on the company’s technically advanced aluminium architecture*.

Wolfgang Stadler, Jaguar Land Rover’s Executive Director of Manufacturing, said: “The significant investment to create two centres of excellence in aluminium vehicle manufacturing, utilising shared technologies, was deliberate. It gives us the flexibility to quickly respond to consumer demand for our growing range of products.”

The arrival of XE at Castle Bromwich continues the renaissance of the plant, which was slated for closure in 2008. The £100m investment to welcome the latest model takes the total invested in the site to more than £500m over the last two years, supporting continuous improvement in the production of XF, F-TYPE and XJ, also built at the plant.

Nicolas Guibert, Castle Bromwich Operations Director, said: “2016 is a pivotal year for Castle Bromwich. The arrival of the XE sees us increase our model lines and volume. 

“This plant has a rich heritage and is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades, with major infrastructure projects either complete or under way. The commissioning of our all-new press line and launch of our body shop to support the introduction of XE means Castle Bromwich is future-proof.”

In August, Jaguar sales stood at 85,726 for the year, an increase of 72% on 2015. This strong performance is driven primarily by F-PACE, the fastest selling Jaguar of all time, and XE, which made its US market debut in the summer.

Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull plant will continue to operate three shifts, 24 hours a day, to keep up with global demand for the Jaguar F-PACE and Range Rover Sport which are built on the same production line.

UK RECALL #6 - Jaguar recalls nearly 900 XF TDV6 2016-2017 models for possible fuel leakage causing a fire.

Vehicle Details
Reference :	R/2016/119
Manufacturer Ref :	J068
Make:	JAGUAR
Model :	Jaguar XF TDV6 RHD 2016 and 2017 Model Year vehicles
Launch Date :	12/07/2016
Numbers Involved :	891
Build Start Date :	20/04/2015
Build End Date :	23/05/2016

Recall Details
Concern :	DIESEL FUEL MAY LEAK AND IN EXTREME CIRCUMSTANCES CREATE RISK OF FIRE
Description :	Due to a misrouted fuel pipe a metal hose clip might chafe against a nylon fuel pipe and may cause a fuel leak
Remedial Action :	On affected vehicles reroute piping and replace any damaged pipes.
Vehicle Id :	SAJBB4AK1GCY00021 to SAJBB4AK2HCY30291

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JAGUAR - XF