Luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover marked the end of 2020 with a second successive quarter-on-quarter recovery in sales, despite the continuing impact of COVID-19.
The group, which builds cars at sites in Halewood, Merseyside, and Castle Bromwich and Solihull in the West Midlands, said retail sales for the quarter, ending December 31, 2020, were 128,469 vehicles, 13.1% higher than the 113,569 vehicles sold in the preceding quarter, but down nine per cent on the same period last year.
China sales were particularly encouraging, up 20.2% on the prior quarter and 19.1% year-on-year.
A new 3m sq ft global parts logistics centre for Jaguar Land Rover has taken a major step forward after Intermediate Capital Group (ICG) agreed fund the scheme at Mercia Park in North-West Leicestershire.
The transaction represents Europe’s largest ever single occupier build-to-suit transaction with ICG partnering with developer IM Properties to deliver the scheme on 20-year leases for each of the five units.
The new campus will service 80 countries.
New car registrations fell to their lowest level in nearly three decades last year, according to preliminary figures from the industry’s trade body.
It was also the biggest one-year fall since World War Two, when factories were being turned over to military production, the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders said.
About 1.63 million new cars were registered in 2020, compared with 2.3 million in 2019 – a decline of 29%.
It was the lowest total since 1992.
The bulk of the lost sales occurred during the first lockdown in the Spring, when showrooms were forced to close, and factories shut down.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55551315