Jaguar Land Rover displays commitment to China market at trade expo
Jaguar Land Rover displayed its full portfolio of imported products and innovative technological achievements at the third China International Import Expo held in Shanghai from Nov 5 to 10. The British premium carmaker’s booth demonstrated its determination to share in future development with China.
Wang Yan, executive vice- president of public relations and corporate communications at Jaguar Land Rover China, said: “The third CIIE held amid the pandemic demonstrated China’s determination to promote high- level opening- up and a strong driving force to lead global economic recovery.
“As one of the largest British exporters to China, Jaguar Land Rover will create and share the future with China with the support of the CIIE.”
As a third- time participant in the CIIE, the carmaker exhibited eight imported models from both Jaguar and Land Rover brands this year.
One of the models, Land Rover’s New Defender, features advanced allterrain technologies and aims to redefine adventure in the modern era.
“The New Defender is a fitting representation of our time in China — it combines heritage with the technologies to differentiate it from the competition. And it is an indication of where we are heading in the future,” said Jonathan Rayner, executive vicepresident of Product Engineering of Jaguar Land Rover China and Asia Pacific, at the CIIE.
The Range Rover Fifty, a tribute to the original luxury SUV that has defined the market for over 50 years, and the Jaguar F- Type, a modern British sports car that offers unrivaled breadth of capability in the segment, were also showcased at the CIIE.
Since entering China in 2010, the British carmaker has introduced around 60 models of 13 nameplates and provided high- end car services for around 1 million customers.
Its Changshu plant in Jiangsu province, which has been focusing on intelligent manufacturing to customize models for customers in China of both Jaguar and Land Rover brands, has become a global demonstration factory. It will locally produce five models within three years, laying the foundation for development in the Chinese market.
According to Jaguar Land Rover, it invests around 4 billion pounds ($ 5.27 billion) on research and development globally every year, and China has been at the core of its innovation and technology development with great efforts made to set up an R& D team of 100 people.
The team focuses on analyzing the current and future needs of consumers and integrating them into the global vehicle R& D processes and tailoring the user experience to suit Chinese customers.
The new InControl OS 2.0 infotainment connected system, which has been launched with the New Defender, is one of their results.
The carmaker has partnered with more than 10 leading Chinese companies covering navigation, voice control and data services to ensure the excellent user experience of Chinese customers.
“The launch of InControl OS 2.0 really highlights our successful cooperation with China’s leading enterprises to integrate local technology into our products,” Rayner said.
A parking and pay service has been integrated with the top two Chinese smart parking operators in China, allowing customers to use both Alipay and WeChat to pay their parking charges.
Achievements in innovative technologies were also showcased at this year’s CIIE.
“Jaguar Land Rover has a vision that reaches far into the future, shaped by the needs and desires of our Chinese customers — today and tomorrow, which is called Destination Zero of zero emissions, zero accidents and zero congestion,” Rayner said.
From this year onward, every new Jaguar and Land Rover vehicle will offer an electrified option to contribute to a zero- emission future.
Earlier this month, the carmaker tested V2X internet- connected vehicle technologies with the Industry Innovation Alliance in Anting, Shanghai.
The carmaker has also tested autonomous driving prototype vehicles on complicated inner- city roads in the United Kingdom, and smart technologies that communicate with traffic lights to calculate the vehicle’s optimal speed to reduce time spent at red lights, improving traffic flow and reducing emissions.
“We are investing in, testing and launching new transport and mobility services from ride- hailing to selfdriving,” Rayner said.
In addition, the company has committed itself to social development in China. In partnership with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation, the carmaker established the Children and Youth Dream Fund in 2014, which has donated 80 billion yuan ($ 11.3 billion) and helped more than 470,000 young people.
In late January, Jaguar Land Rover and its joint venture in China donated 8 million yuan, being one of the first in the auto industry to take action against the pandemic in China. It has also donated more than 160 New Defender SUVs to hard- hit areas globally.
Jaguar Land Rover’s sales recovery was strong in the second quarter of its fiscal year. Sales in China were up 14.6 percent on the prior quarter while global sales of the New Defender rose to 4,508 units in the month of September.
Its global revenue in the three months ending on Sept 30 reached 4.4 billion pounds, with a free cash flow of 463 million pounds, as sales and revenue recovered from the impact of COVID- 19 in the first quarter.