China keeps Jaguar Land Rover cruising

Car maker Jaguar Land Rover continues to motor ahead with its turnaround in fortunes after soaring sales of its 4x4s in China and Russia offset falls in the UK.

The number of cars sold by the firm, owned by Indian company Tata Motors, rose 5 per cent in the three months to 30 June, helping Tata's revenues to increase 20 per cent to 2.7 billion.

It was a strong year as a whole for Land Rover, which saw a 12 per cent increase in retail sales after volumes were boosted by strong demand in Russia, whereas sales of Jaguars declined by 10 per cent.

China and Russia were the firm's strongest markets, with the number of cars sold in the two countries up by 48 per cent and 55 per cent respectively. The Jaguar XJ 3.0 petrol model proved particularly popular in China following its launch in March. But the UK market saw a 19 per cent fall in car sales, as it ran down stocks of old models ahead of the September launch of the Jaguar XF 2.2 litre model and the roll-out of its Range Rover Evoque.

Jaguar Land Rover's pre-tax profits rose 3.9 per cent to 248.5 million despite its margins being squeezed by the rising cost of raw materials and unfavourable exchange rates.

The company's strong first-quarter results come after it reported pre-tax profits of 1.1bn in the year to 31 March, up from 14.6m the previous year. Revenues rose 51 per cent to 9.9bn.