Land Rover launches its green fightback

Jun 18 2008 by Alistair Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

LAND Rover’s worldwide sales will be flat this year as the global economic slowdown and mounting environmental concerns hit its key markets.

The halt to years of sales growth was revealed by Land Rover managing director Phil Popham yesterday.

However, Mr Popham also revealed plans to counter falling sales with a £700m investment in new green research and development facilities. Mr Popham told the Daily Post that he expects worldwide sales in 2008 to be the same as last year, when the car group sold more than 200,000 vehicles a year for the first time.

But Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which employs more than 2,000 people at its Halewood plant, will today unveil plans to develop new environmentally-friendly technology. The move, which could create 600 new jobs in the UK, is a sign of the confidence JLR’s new Indian owners Tata Motors has in the company. And Land Rover has also confirmed that Halewood will build its first-ever vehicle with new “stop-start” fuel saving technology.

Last year, Land Rover sold 226,395 cars around the world, up 17.6% on 2006 – breaking the 200,000 barrier for the first time. It sold 50,664 vehicles in the UK.

But UK sales are falling sharply – earlier this month, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said Land Rover sales fell 32.55% in May, compared to the same month in 2007.

Land Rover hopes to offset falling sales in Britain, the US and Western Europe by expanding in new and emerging markets.

Mr Popham said: “This is going to be a year of consolidation. I’m expecting the same volumes as last year globally in a different mix of markets.

“We’ve only been in the Russian market for five years, and it is now our third biggest market in the world. It’s up 120% on the year.

“China will be our fifth biggest market, and we’ve only been there four years. We’re up 150% there.

“There are also more established markets like Brazil. We’re up 60% there so far this year, and we’ve got more than half the 4x4 market there.

“Then there are other markets such as Australia, which has had a very good and strong economy for the last six months.”

Earlier this month, Tata completed the purchase of JLR from Ford in a £1.17bn deal.

The focus of the new JLR recruitment cam- paign is on engineering and improving the environmental performance of its vehicles. The majority of the new jobs announced today are likely to be at the company’s West Midlands plants, where its administration, design and engineering teams are based.

Some new jobs are expected to be created at Halewood.

JLR chief executive David Smith said: “This recruitment drive demonstrates Jaguar Land Rover’s confid- ence in our future.

“We have entered an exciting era.”

4x4 ANALYSIS: P8-9;

OPINION – MAIN PAPER: P10

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