JLR sales fell by 4.6% in 2018

JAGUAR Land Rover has revealed its sales fell by 4.6 per cent in 2018, as the Coventry car maker sold 592,708 vehicles.

The latest sales figures were announced on the day the company revealed it would be axing 4,500 jobs as part of a £2.5 billion cost-saving programme.

The car maker is attempting to weather what has been described as “a perfect storm” due to Brexit uncertainty, declining demand for diesel cars and slowing sales in China. Despite the difficulties 2018 proved to be a good year for Jaguar, with the brand enjoying record-breaking sales of 180,833.

That represented an increase on 1.2 per cent over the ‘Big Cat’s’ global sales for 2017.

Jaguar’s success was attributed to the introduction of two new SUVs, the E-Pace and the I-Pace.

The I-Pace is also Jaguar Land Rover’s first allelectric model.

Despite this, and other good news in the shape of increased sales in North America and other overseas markets, overall results were badly hit by sales in China.

Sales were down by 21.6 per cent in what had become Jaguar Land Rover’s biggest market, while they rose by 7.2 per cent in North America and 7.3 per cent overseas.

UK sales fell by 1.5 per cent, while European sales were down 7.8 per cent.

December sales were down by 52,160, representing a 6.4 per cent drop compared to December 2017.

Encouraging signs in December included sales rises in North America (21.4 per cent), Europe (7.6 per cent) and the UK (7.8 per cent).

Chinese sales were down by 42.4 per cent over the final month of 2018 while other overseas markets saw a 9.6 per cent decline.

Jaguar Land Rover described market conditions in China as “challenging” due to slowing economic growth and trade tensions with the US.

It added that it was working with its retailers in China in a bid to improve the situation.

The car maker will be hoping for a boost in all markets when the recently unveiled all-new Range Rover Evoque goes on sale soon.

Felix Brautigam, Jaguar Land Rover’s chief commercial officer, said: “We have seen a strong end to the year in North America, Europe and the UK.

“Sales were up despite challenging market conditions, including regulatory changes and diesel uncertainty, which have impacted sales performance throughout the year.”