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

TMW - It's that time of the month again, December and full year sales in the United Kingdom.

JAGUAR

DEC 2017 2009 Sales - DEC 2016 2520 Sales - -20.28%
YTD 2017 35544 Sales - YTD 2016 34822 Sales - +2.07%

LAND ROVER 
DEC 2017 4186 Sales - DEC 2016 4967 Sales - -15.72%
YTD 2017 82653 Sales - YTD 2016 79534 Sales - +3.92%

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (COMBINED)

DEC 2017 6195 Sales - DEC 2016 7487 Sales - -20.80%
YTD 2017 118197 Sales - YTD 2016 114356 Sales - +3.36%

AUDI 
DEC 2017 10671 Sales - DEC 2016 11319 Sales --5.72%
YTD 2017 174982 Sales - YTD 2016 177304 Sales - -1.31%

BMW 
DEC 2017 13471 Sales - DEC 2016 15066 Sales - -10.59%
YTD 2017 175101 Sales - YTD 2016 182593 Sales - -4.10%

INFINITI 
DEC 2017 59 Sales - DEC 2016 78 Sales - -24.36%
YTD 2017 3515 Sales - YTD 2016 2891 Sales - +21.58%

LEXUS 
DEC 2017 772 Sales - DEC 2016 750 Sales - +2.93%
YTD 2017 12670 Sales - YTD 2016 13915 Sales - -8.95%

MERCEDES-BENZ 
DEC 2017 10427 Sales - DEC 2016 10220 Sales - +2.03%
YTD 2017 180970 Sales - YTD 2016 169828 Sales - +6.56%

INCREASES BY BRAND BY MONTH-YTD

ABARTH +11.98%

ALFA ROMEO +2.38%
ASTON MARTIN +62.36%
HYUNDAI +1.06%
KIA +4.32%
MASERATI +18.54%
MCLAREN +3050.00%
MG +5.94%
PORSCHE +7.28%
SEAT +18.28%
SUZUKI +5.70%
TOYOTA +5.42%
VOLKSWAGEN +0.69%

DECREASES BY BRAND BY MONTH

BENTLEY -10.01%
CITROEN -18.31%

DACIA -5.09%
DS AUTOMOBILES -42.87%

FIAT -26.59%
FORD -9.71%
HONDA -8.81%
JEEP -54.72%
LOTUS -17.70%

MAZDA -16.13%
MINI -1.19%

MITSUBISHI -11.76%
NISSAN -0.90%
PEUGEOT -16.55%
RENAULT -18.79%
SKODA -0.76%

SMART -14.12%

SSANGYONG -19.22%
SUBARU -25.83%
VAUXHALL -22.24%
VOLVO -1.19%

Well, we have gotten to the end of 2017 and the sales for the year are as expected, DOWN, and down by some serious numbers, Vauxhall, has lost its #2 spot in the sales chart which it has had for so many years, Ford remains number 1, but for how much longer, their sales are slipping, so no amount of new metal, segment leaders, and commercial sales are helping Uncle Henry, and as for Vauxhall, now they are in PSA hands, they are heading the same way, with all of PSA brands dropping sales like a stone, Vauxhall has joined Citroen, Peugeot and DS Auto, in publishing sales significantly lower than the year before.

MG continue to buck the trend, with the all new ZS, which we will be reviewing here later this month, they have increased the warranty on the MG3, along with the already extended warranty on the ZS, this year at the London Motor Show, we should be getting  the new MG6 and the facelifted MG3, both of which will help grow sales further, they could have just flooded the market with cars and models, but they have taken their time, and released each one, and expanded that model, which as far as i am concerned is the right way to go about it, get each model sorted and then move onto the next one, we could however do with a more sporty engine in the MG3, and that would give it the "boy racer" appeal it is lacking.

Volvo has taken a downturn which considering they have so many new or almost new models, the XC-90, XC-60, S90 and V90 are all "new Volvo" along with the soon to be launched XC-40, S40 and V40, the first for the 40 series, is an expanded range of models, but this year should see Volvo head back to growth in the UK.

Brexit, that stupid word that does nothing but cause grief, will be finally dealt wither a saving grace or a death ring, but saying that, if the Eurozone does impact a tax on cars imported from the UK to Europe, we will then do similar, with cars arriving from the Eurozone to the UK, so a no win situation, why couldnt we just stay within the Eurozone

TMW - Its that time of the month with UK sales figures showing a massive 20% decrease in sales.

JAGUAR

APR 2017 1732 Sales - APR 2016 2405 Sales - -27.98%
YTD 2017 14866 Sales - YTD 2016 11085 Sales - +34.11%

LAND ROVERAPR 2017 4162 Sales - APR 2016 6482 Sales - -36.50%
YTD 2017 33855 Sales - YTD 2016 30600 Sales - +10.64%

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (COMBINED)APR 2017 5895 Sales - APR 2016 8887 Sales - -50.75%
YTD 2017 48721 Sales - YTD 2016 41685 Sales - +16.88%

AUDIAPR 2017 13094 Sales - APR 2016 13668 Sales - -4.20%
YTD 2017 60874 Sales - YTD 2016 61048 Sales - -0.29%

BMWAPR 2017 11277 Sales - APR 2016 10980 Sales - +2.70%
YTD 2017 60758 Sales - YTD 2016 57475 Sales - +5.71%

INFINITIAPR 2017 118 Sales - APR 2016 335 Sales - -64.78%
YTD 2017 1403 Sales - YTD 2016 859 Sales - +63.33%

LEXUSAPR 2017 672 Sales - APR 2016 835 Sales - -19.52%
YTD 2017 4566 Sales - YTD 2016 5172 Sales - -11.72%

MERCEDES-BENZAPR 2017 13345 Sales - APR 2016 12077 Sales - +10.50%
YTD 2017 68182 Sales - YTD 2016 59316 Sales - +14.95%

INCREASES BY BRAND BY MONTH

ABARTH +15.22%
ALFA ROMEO +1.59%
ASTON MARTIN +129.21%
BENTLEY +4.90%
DACIA +2.69%
FORD +2.99%
HYUNDAI +6.95%
KIA +16.01%
LOTUS +5.41%
MASERATI +77.91%
MCLAREN +0.00%
MG +1.58%
MINI +4.11%
NISSAN +13.96%
PORSCHE +6.19%
RENAULT +0.15%
SEAT +22.61%
SKODA +4.79%
SMART +11.91%
SSANGYONG +0.06%
SUZUKI +12.72%
TOYOTA +7.27%
VOLVO +10.01%

DECREASES BY BRAND BY MONTH

CITROEN -18.69%
DS AUTOMOBILES -41.37%
FIAT -13.29%
HONDA -9.86%
JEEP -38.09%
MAZDA -13.57%
MITSUBISHI -19.61%
PEUGEOT -10.58%
SUBARU -16.07%
VAUXHALL -14.94%
VOLKSWAGEN -6.17%

Jaguar Land Rover dropped by a significant amount in April, down by 50%, but the YTD saw sales still showing an increase in sales over the same period a year earlier, however With the London Motor Show just completed, we saw some significant releases, the all new MG XS, the small SUV from the Longbridge based company, the Alpine Sports Coupe from Renault, the facelifted Korando from Ssangyong and the UK launch of the Crossland and Insignia from vauxhall.

UK premium brands like Lotus, Bentley and Aston Martin all showed positive figures in the year to the end of April, whereas Volkswagen in the month and YTD saw decreases, in the month they were down by over 41%, in fact in April there was only 8 brands that grew sales over the same  month a year earlier.

Is the decline due to Brexit, or something thats not known about yet, either way, the motor industry in the UK will not be able to cope with continued decreases in sales, and if it is, then maybe the UK produced cars will grow sales, so JLR, Bentley, Lotus, Aston Martin, Honda, Nissan and Toyota as the main brands should take advantage of the issues. 

With Peugeot taking over Vauxhall, what will happen with Luton and Ellesmere Port facilities, will the carry on producing Vauxhall's, and what about the possibility of these plants producing cars from the PSA Group, so who knows, after all these years, Peugeots might be built in the UK again, or even Citroen's for the first time in decades.

TMW - The Month of March has the plate change so big sales, and it was a great month too !

JAGUAR

MAR 2017 9571 Sales - MAR 2016 5659 Sales - +69.13%
YTD 2017 13134 Sales - YTD 2016 8680 Sales - +51.31%

LAND ROVER

MAR 2017 22534 Sales - MAR 2016 18234 Sales - +23.58%
YTD 2017 29739 Sales - YTD 2016 24118 Sales - +23.31%

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (COMBINED)

MAR 2017 32105 Sales - MAR 2016 23893 Sales - +34.37%
YTD 2017 42873 Sales - YTD 2016 32798 Sales - +30.72%

AUDI

MAR 2017 30867 Sales - MAR 2016 30483 Sales - +1.26%
YTD 2017 47780 Sales - YTD 2016 47380 Sales - +0.84%

BMW

MAR 2017 15066 Sales - MAR 2016 17181 Sales - +7.40%
YTD 2017 49481 Sales - YTD 2016 46495 Sales - +6.42%

INFINITI

MAR 2017 985 Sales - MAR 2016 392 Sales - +151.28%
YTD 2017 1285 Sales - YTD 2016 524 Sales - +145.23%

LEXUS

MAR 2017 2888 Sales - MAR 2016 3104 Sales - -6.96%
YTD 2017 3894 Sales - YTD 2016 4337 Sales - -10.21%

MERCEDES-BENZ

MAR 2017 35690 Sales - MAR 2016 30243 Sales - +18.01%
YTD 2017 54837 Sales - YTD 2016 47239 Sales - +16.08%

INCREASES BY BRAND BY MONTH

ABARTH +26.68%
ALFA ROMEO +6.90%ASTON MARTIN +135.40%
BENTLEY +26.86%
DACIA +10.10%
FORD +11.32%
HYUNDAI +9.81%
KIA +22.94%
LOTUS +1.15%MASERATI +95.72%
MCLAREN +0.00%
MG +7.36%
MINI +6.73%
NISSAN +21.68%
PORSCHE +12.36%
RENAULT +4.87%
SEAT +25.33%
SKODA +9.30%
SMART +13.39%
SUZUKI +20.84%
TOYOTA +13.81%VOLKSWAGEN +4.06%
VOLVO +18.02%

DECREASES BY BRAND BY MONTH

CITROEN -14.08%
DS AUTOMOBILES -39.23%
FIAT -5.83%
HONDA -9.83%
JEEP -26.27%
MAZDA -11.76%
MITSUBISHI -22.49%
PEUGEOT -8.38%
SSANGYONG -1.74%
SUBARU -5.38%
VAUXHALL -11.06%

The month saw some significant changes, as well as some big improvements, Jaguar leads the way with huge growth, along with sister brand Land Rover, the combined sales are running at around a third higher than at the same time a year earlier, however, the UK brand which has now been sold to the French Giant PSA, Vauxhall continues to hemorrhage sales as they have dome ever month this year.

The Longbridge based brand MG is selling more and more cars this year, with the ever popular MG3 and SUV, GS, this will be bolstered with the arrival of an all new SUV model later in the year, tentatively called the ZS, but not the name of the car when it eventually arrives in the UK, and hopefully it will get a show at the London Motor Show, like the GS did last year.

Talking of the PSA Group, which includes Peugeot, Citroen and DS Automobiles, all three brands have dropped sales again, and like Vauxhall, this has happened every month this year, so, who are getting these sales, well, Ford grows again, along with the premium brands from Germany, Audi, BMW and Mercedes, added to UK brands Aston Martin, Bentley and Lotus there seems to be a "quality brand" increase in sales.

But saying that, there is also a rise in sales for the mid to lower end of the market brands, like Renault, Suzuki, SEAT Skoda and smart, these are all growers too, in fact there are very few brands that have decreased YTD, even the US Giant FCA has seen sales dip in the Jeep and FIAT ranges, at least Alfa and Maserati have increased, but not by enough to offset the declines in Jeep and FIATs sales.

The big suprise for us is the PSA Group sales, with so many new cars across the three brands, awards and price cuts, the sales are still heading south, so what can they do to change this, well, to be honest, we have no idea, they are doing everything possible to increase the sales without positive results.

Well, thats it for another month, we look forward to the London Motor Show, where we will be on Press day, enjoy Easter, we hope you all have a good one.