China sales drive up Jaguar Land Rover profits

LONDON - Jaguar Land Rover, the Indian-owned car manufacturer based in Britain, reported records sales driven by strong demand in China and other emerging markets, the company said on Tuesday.

The luxury car maker made an annual pre-tax profit of 1.5 billion pounds ($2.3 billion) in the year ending March 2012, up from 1.12 billion pounds the previous year.

Profits surged 34 percent as sales hit record highs. Sales increased by 29.1 percent to 314,433 units in the year, with Jaguar selling 54,039 units and Land Rover selling 260,394 units.

Sales were mainly driven by strong demand in China and other emerging markets, according to the company. Tata Motors, the owner of Jaguar Land Rover, said China will be the second-biggest market for its Jaguar Land Rover in the current financial year.

The new Range Rover Evoque, a compact 4x4, sold particularly well, the company added.

Pre-tax profits for the first quarter this year stood at 530 million pounds, up from 299 million pounds compared to the same quarter last year. Revenues were up 51.5 percent to 4.14 billion pounds.

In March, Jaguar Land Rover announced a joint venture with Chinese carmaker Chery Automobile to build vehicles for the Chinese market. The agreement is currently awaiting regulatory approval from Chinese authorities.