Jaguar confident of Chinese move

JAGUAR Land Rover said it remains confident about its attempts to tap into the Chinese market despite the slowdown in its economy.

The luxury British car-maker was in bullish mood as another period of strong sales continued to prop up its Indian parent Tata Motors.

JLR opened its first plant in China, in the city of Changshu near Shanghai, last month.

Kenneth Gregor, JLR’s chief financial officer said in Mumbai, India: ‘We feel positive about demand in China for our products. That’s really the key to our growth going forward, the strength of our product portfolio.’

JLR reported earnings of £933m for the three months to September, a jump of 15.3pc.

Revenues increased 4.2pc to £4.8bn. On Wednesday it said it had sold 384,665 vehicles so far this year, up 11pc. The new factory in China is part of plans to increase production and sales overseas, and comes as it faces the prospect of industrial action in the UK. Yesterday unions rejected the car-maker’s pay offer of 14pc over three years. Trade union Unite urged JLR’s bosses to ‘get around the negotiating table and hammer out a deal that meets the workforce’s expectations and shares the rewards of the company’s success fairly.’

Unite said 96pc of the 12,881 workers across the firm’s five UK plants rejected the pay offer.

Roger Maddison, Unite national officer said: ‘With the company making a staggering £10m profit a day, it is no surprise that the workforce is angered by pension cuts and a pay offer that falls short in recognising their role in that success.’