Cars

Jaguar, Land Rover both saw blistering growth last year

By Tian Yang (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-31 15:25

BEIJING - British luxury icons Jaguar and Land Rover registered blistering growth in 2010 as both brands set new sales records in China.

Deliveries of Jaguar increased 50 percent to 2,655 units last year while sales of Land Rover more than doubled to 23,459 units.

Bob Grace, president of Jaguar Land Rover China, said the company knows the importance of the Chinese market and promised continued expansion of dealer networks to bring the best products and services to local customers.

Just 10 days ago Jaguar opened its flagship showroom in Beijing. Located in Chaoyang district, the 550-square-meter facility is Jaguar's largest premier showroom in the country. It incorporates carmaker's latest global standards and provides customized services to buyers.

Zong Ming, general manager of Beijing Yanyingjie Auto Sales and Service Co Ltd, the authorized dealer partner of Jaguar that built the showroom, said the newly launched Beijing outlet is likely to sell about 400 cars this year.

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Another Jaguar showroom by Yanyingjie is set to open soon in Tianjin, where the company expects to sell about 200 Jaguars this year, Zong said.

Jaguar Land Rover now has about 60 dealer outlets in the country. By the end of this year, the company hopes to have 100, he said.

Along with the expanding dealer network, Jaguar Land Rover set up a training academy in Shanghai last July, its first in the country. Another is planned for Beijing in the first half of this year, the company said.

Jaguar Land Rover also has parts distribution centers in Beijing and Suzhou. A new warehouse will be built in Guangzhou early this year to respond more rapidly to after-sales demands from dealers and customers, the company said.

China is now the third-largest market for Land Rover and the fourth-biggest for Jaguar.

Media reports said that Jaguar Land Rover has plans for local production in China and has been in talks with potential Chinese partners for the past few months.

Grace admitted that the company is "doing some evaluation work". But he said "the project is still very confidential" and declined to offer details.