Jaguar Land Rovers SVR division to build its own stand alone cars ! Seems like its a possibility.

Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations unit may create its own cars instead of just modifying existing ones to build a following among consumers seeking a high-performance alternative to BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz.

"We're certainly looking at that, and we've got the capability to do that," said John Edwards, head of the company's performance unit. "Is there an opportunity for us to do a completely stand-alone car? Maybe."

JLR, which has been adding new vehicles to broaden its reach in the market, would be following in the footsteps of Daimler's Mercedes if it commissions sporty models from the high-performance division it founded last year. The German company's AMG unit has produced two: the SLS and the new GT, which replaced the gull-wing sports car last year as the top pure-performance model in the Mercedes lineup.

Like JLR's SVR project, in which the R stands for "race," Mercedes AMG, BMW Group's M and Audi’s RS units also make performance versions of their brands' regular cars, with more powerful engines, sporty design elements and track-tuned suspensions -- and higher price tags.

The strategy makes sense for nameplates with racing pedigrees, said Peter Fuss, a partner at consulting company Ernst & Young's German unit. "It's part of their genes," Fuss said. "The rise in AMG sales shows it's been a good way to attract buyers happy to spend that little bit extra."

Sales targets

Mercedes AMG sold 47,500 last year, more than doubling deliveries since 2011. That was about 2.9 percent of Mercedes's total sales of 1.65 million cars, a small but profitable segment.

The high-performance AMG version of the Mercedes E-class sedan, for example, comes with a 550hp engine and costs $93,600, 81 percent more than the 195hp base version, while the $222,000, 621hp S65 AMG costs more than double the basic S-class sedan. The M variant of the BMW 3 series has more than double the horsepower and, at $62,000, costs 60 percent more.

JLR doesn't disclose deliveries of individual business units. The performance division will probably never contribute more than 10 percent of the carmaker's sales, Edwards said in a March 3 interview. Itself a luxury unit of India's Tata Motors, JLR wants to boost its deliveries this year to more than 500,000 vehicles. Still, it's an opportunity to "stretch the Jaguar Land Rover brand," Edwards said.

Priciest SUV

The high-performance and custom cars division started selling JLR's priciest-ever SUV last month. The big, modified Range Rover Sport SVR costs 93,450 pounds ($142,500) and accelerates faster than the two-seat Porsche Boxster or Cayman.

JLR also put the new unit in charge of vehicle customization and heritage. Options for putting one's own stamp on a vehicle will be similar to what Ferrari and Rolls-Royce buyers are used to, Edwards said. Customization "is a huge area for our Range Rover customers," he said. Customers often spend an extra 25,000 pounds for one-of-a-kind features like matching the color to a handbag or another car, embroidering a crest on the interior or customizing the wood on the doors or dashboard.

The division is also building the Project 7 variant of the Jaguar F-Type. Capped at 250 vehicles, it will have the quickest acceleration of any Jaguar. And this month, it finished the first of six hand-built versions of the classic Lightweight E- Type. Even at more than 1 million pounds apiece, they've already sold out.

REPORT HERE

DS brand loses sales in first half, but bouyed by massive increases in China.

Vehicle sales at Citroen’s upscale DS line, which became a stand-alone brand on June 1, fell during the first half, hit by an aging product lineup and tougher competition from refreshed rivals such as Mini.

DS global sales fell 10 percent to 63,789 through June. The biggest decline was in Europe, where volume dropped 21 percent to 50,056 units. A bright spot was China where first-half DS sales were 10,482 units compared with 957 during the prior-year period.

PSA/Peugeot-Citroen launched the DS line in 2010 to help the automaker boost earnings by attracting customers willing to spend more money for high-spec models.

The brand has expanded from the initial DS 3 and DS 3 Cabrio subcompacts to offer the DS 4, DS 5 and DS 5LS compacts.

The next addition will be the China-only 6WR SUV, which was unveiled at the Beijing auto show in April.

Expanding DS sales is a crucial part of PSA CEO Carlos Tavares' Back to the Race turnaround plan for the automaker. He named PSA's former director of group strategy, Yves Bonnefont, to the newly created position of CEO of DS in June. Bonnefont is tasked with elevating DS from a tiny-but-successful division of Citroen to a global powerhouse.

Tough market

Citroen said first-half DS sales in Europe were hit by a contracting market in the segment where the brand competes, especially in France.

"DS is moving forward with the launch of a new front light signature for DS 3 and DS 3 Cabrio, new limited editions, new engines and its first SUV for China in September," Citroen said in a July 21 statement.

IHS Automotive analyst Ian Fletcher said Tavares’ anti-discount strategy and an aging lineup likely hurt DS sales. "The lynchpin DS 3 is five years old now and is a very familiar sight," Fletcher said. "It is facing vehicles that are benefiting from updates, such as the refreshed Mini, or are being heavily pushed by rivals, such as the new version of the Fiat 500."

The DS 3 launched the DS line but is now aging.

Analysts expect the appointment of Bonnefont as CEO of DS to bring benefits.

"The new CEO could help if he understands that the success of DS will come if the premium mentality is applied on DS," said Jamel Taganza from analyst firm Inovev. “It means, in addition to becoming a stand-alone brand, that DS must also have an independent technical center, for example."

IHS Automotive’s Fletcher agreed that making DS a stand-alone brand was a good move. "The launch of the DS nameplate under Citroen enabled PSA to dip a toe in to the premium sector, but ultimately they were still Citroen products directed by requirements of that brand," Fletcher said. "By spinning DS off and appointing its own CEO, PSA gives it a greater singularity of concept in the pursuit of a widening its customer base in the premium sector."

PSA expects China to be a major market for DS, helped by ever-increasing demand for premium Western products. PSA opened a joint venture plant with Changan Auto in Shenzhen, China, in September to build the DS 5. Inovev forecasts that the factory's annual production will rise to 200,000 units by 2017 from 50,000 in 2014 and 100,000 in 2015.

Bruce Gain