CAR maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has achieved an almost £300m turnaround after posting pre-tax profits of £238.82m for the first quarter of its current financial year.

The figure compares to a £62m loss in the corresponding period last year.

The group said the improvement was based on higher sales volumes and “significantly favourable currency movement” in the first quarter of its 2010-11 financial year.

Sales of the luxury marques have improved to such an extent from the low point of the recent recession that the business announced further plans to extend overseas assembly of its Land Rover models to India, home of company owner Tata Motors, which bought JLR from Ford for £1.15bn two years ago.

Wholesale volumes – the number of cars leaving its Halewood plant in Knowsley and its two West Midlands factories – during the first quarter were 57,153 units compared with 35,947 units last year.

This was on the back of “continued overwhelming response for Land Rover products”, including the Halewood-built Freelander, and the new West Midlands Jaguar XJ.

International sales also recovered strongly, with China standing out after registering growth of 104%.