Jaguar Land Rover zooms to record sales in March

Jaguar Land Rover, the British luxury carmaker owned by Tata Motors, on Wednesday announced record sales for March across markets, including the UK, India, and China.

The company also announced plans for 1,000 new jobs in its West Midlands plant, which it said would be created for engineers over two years.

In the UK, sales of the Range Rover 2011 model increased by 30 per cent in March, the highest monthly figure in the company's 63-year history. In all, 11,400 Land Rovers and Range Rovers were snapped up, beating the previous record of 11,300 set last year.

In India, Land Rover sales were up as much as 61 per cent, albeit on a low base. In China, sales were up 33 per cent.

The Jaguar too enjoyed its best month, with sales reaching a record in India as well as Russia and Germany. Jaguar Sales in Russia were up as much as 70 per cent, while the figure for Germany was 49 per cent.

Phil Popham, group sales director, puts the success down to recent investment in products. "Despite a challenging business environment, Jaguar Land Rover is flourishing on a global scale with March sales reflecting the confidence consumers have in our brands and products.

''We have ambitious plans to grow our business and it is clear that there is a strong appetite in the market for exciting new products, powertrains and technologies which will further improve our penetration in key markets and segments," he said.