JLR sales accelerate to new record

A record smashing performance from Jaguar Land Rover has flown in the face of a dip in UK-wide car sales in June.

While the country saw record demand for cars in the first half of the year, this slowed down in the second six months and fell by 0.8 per cent in June, compared to the same month last year, according to industry figures.

But in sharp contrast, the West Midlands-based luxury car company has hit all-time records and kept on accelerating, boosted by demand for cars powered by the engines it makes in Wolverhampton.

In the first six months of this year a total of 62,314 Jaguars and Land Rovers were driven away. That is one car sold every four minutes and a 21 per cent increase on last year.

Jeremy Hicks, JLR's UK managing director,said: "This is a fantastic result and sends out a signal of intent in the current uncertain climate: Jaguar Land Rover is very much open for business.

"It has been a fantastic performance so far in 2016, with both brands contributing to our success."

And it keeps getting better for JLR, with sales rocketing 34 per cent in June, with 2,928 sold in a 10-year record for the firm.

It's success was spearheaded by the XE saloon, with more than 1,000 sold last month. It was the first Jaguar powered by an engine from the new factory in Wolverhampton.

And JLR's sales success means even more demand for the diesel engines currently being made on the city's i54 site, where the workforce has expanded to 850.

And more jobs are set to be on the way at the factory, with petrol engine production due to start in the coming months. And work is already under way on doubling the size of the plant to cope with JLR's sales boom.

Meanwhile, nationwide a total of 255,766 cars were registered last month, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

The SMMT said the figures were in line with expectations that the market would 'stabilise' following a record 2015 and it was too early to tell if the EU referendum has affected sales.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes noted that demand for new cars in the first half of the year overall grew by 3.2% to a record 1,420,636 registrations.

He said: "It is far too soon to determine whether the referendum result has had an impact on the new car market.

"The first six months saw strong demand at record levels but the market undoubtedly cooled over the second quarter.

"It's important government takes every measure to restore business and economic confidence to avoid the market contracting in the coming months."