Jaguar F-type
Jaguar Land Rover USA reported a monthly sales increase of 40 percent compared to the year-ago period for the Land Rover division, due to the popularity of the Range Rover Sport and Evoque models.
August 2013 marks the best sales month for Land Rover of all time and the best sales month for Jaguar since 2005. Such strong numbers will likely allow the brand to pursue new projects and invest in innovations while still promoting the models that boosted sales.
“This is just the beginning for Jaguar,” said Stuart Schorr, vice president of communications and public affairs, Jaguar Land Rover North America, Mahwah, NJ. ”We need to build on this momentum with continued great experiences at the showroom, and some of the highest quality in the industry.
“We announced a new concept crossover vehicle to be shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show and a new advanced lightweight aluminum architecture with which to build a new generation of Jaguar vehicles,” he said.
Concerted effort
Jaguar sales were 1,230 units in August, up from 1,029 in the year-ago period. Land Rover sales were 4,938 in August, up from 3,727 in the year-ago period.
Jaguar Land Rover North America as a whole tallied a 40 percent increase in August sales. Year to date, Jaguar Land Rover North America is up 18 percent.
The Range Rover Sport led Range Rover sales with 1,846 units sold, an increase of 21 percent.
Range Rover Evoque was the growth leader, with an increase of 53 percent to 1,070 units from 700 units in August 2012.
Range Rover Evoque
Jaguar reported 11,134 models sold, up 30 percent from 8,546 models, with both XJ and XF sales increasing.
For the month of August, the Jaguar XF was the Jaguar volume and growth leader with 757 units sold, up 54 percent from 493 sales in August 2012. The Jaguar XJ sales were 499 units, up 17 percent from 426 in August, 2012, per the brand.
Jaguar XJR
After four months of retail, the Jaguar F-type two seat convertible sports car sold 401 units.
At the 2013 New York International Auto Show, Jaguar debuted two new models, the 550-hp Jaguar XJR and Jaguar XKR-S GT, expanding its R performance lineup to six models.
The Range Rover Sport is in showrooms now and Jaguar will continue to expand its product offering with the XJR and XFR-S.
Not the only winner
This year has yielded propitious sales numbers for several luxury automakers.
For instance, Porsche Design reported a 45 percent increase in sales for the 2012 financial year that is largely a result of its strengthened retail presence.
The most growth was seen in Porsche Design’s own retail operations, which recorded a 94 percent growth. This increase is likely from the brand’s release of new products and its push of fashion throughout 2012 (see story).
Also, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars’ expansion is barreling forward with the popularity of its Wraith model and rising sales that spurred the creation of 100 new jobs.
The British automaker’s newly-minted jobs run the gamut of the company’s labor, indicating that the brand is churning on all cylinders, while half-year sales figures predict another record year in 2013. Promising numbers such as these show that affluent consumers are continuing to purchase luxury goods (see story).
Occasionally a brand can be revitalized by the introduction of a new model.
“The release of the Jaguar F-TYPE has generated not only added sales, but even greater added dealership traffic in that it has awoken tremendous new interest in the Jaguar brand,” Mr. Schorr said.
“The F-TYPE sports car reconnects us to our heritage in the way of a two-seat convertible sports car, while accurately representing who we are today and what we have to offer: highly-focused luxury vehicles that deliver on our very specific and longstanding brand promise to our customers,” he said.
Final take
Joe McCarthy, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York