JLR's record global sales makes Tata Motors stock a star performer today

Tata Motors shares today rose more than 2 percent in morning trade after itsBritish subsidiary Jaguar-Land Rover said it sold 425,000 vehicles in 2013, up 19 percent from last year and the best ever performance in its history.

At 10 am, Tata Motors shares were up 2.70 percent at Rs 378.10 while the BSE Sensex was up 244 points at 21047.

The performance met with accolades from British Prime Minister David Cameroon who termed it “great news for Britain and for jobs”. The UK-based company, owned by Tata Motors since 2008, was spurred by growth in the Chinese market and a slew of new launches.

[caption id=“attachment_978109” align=“alignleft” width=“450”]  In 2013, Land Rover sales rose 15 percent to 348,383 units while Jaguar nearly doubled its sales to 76,668 units. The Jaguar F-Type, the company’s new sports car, and Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque were favourites among buyers. Reuters[/caption]

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The latest numbers are an indication of the turnaround Tata has produced at JLR – the company was taken over close to shutdown – and will help the Indian company counterbalance dismal sales in the local market. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, JLR shuttered several plants in Britain and laid off employees, leading to a political backlash in its origin country. But five years since the acquisition, the company has announced it hired 600 people at a new manufacturing centre.

In 2013, Land Rover sales rose 15 percent to 348,383 units while Jaguar nearly doubled its sales to 76,668 units. The Jaguar F-Type, the company’s new sports car, and Land Rover’s Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque were favourites among buyers.

“Our unrelenting focus on design, technology, innovation and quality has seen Jaguar Land Rover reach global consumers in more markets than ever before thanks to its most desirable product line-up, enriched further in 2013 by the Jaguar F-TYPE and all-new Range Rover Sport,” said JLR CEO Ralf Speth. Sales have been doing particularly well in the US and Germany, besides the rapidly growing developing economies of India and China.

Globally, Land Rover proved the firm favourite among customers representing the largest share of sales with 348,383 sold in 2013, an increase of 15 percent. But demand for the luxury Jaguar has also surged over the last 12 months, almost doubling its international sales to 76,668. The UK-based company is now planning to hire nearly 2,000 extra employees to meet growing demand, bringing its total staff in the country to more than 26,000.

Around 600 jobs will be created over the next four years at the firm’s site near Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. More than 500 million pounds are being invested in the centre, where low-emission engines will be built. JLR also has design and manufacturing plants in Merseyside and Warwickshire, with a head office based in Coventry.

The company claims to support over 190,000 UK jobs through its overall supply chain and dealer network and has plans to invest 2.75 billion pounds in its products and facilities in the financial year ending March 2014. The latest sales figures are yet another resounding vote of confidence for the Tata Group, which acquired the flagging brands in 2008 amid a global economic slowdown.

“It is not just our customers who are delighting in our strongest ever vehicle line up, international journalists bestowed almost 200 awards on our vehicles in 2013 with the F-Type, our star performer, receiving more than 59 accolades,” said Andy Goss, JLR Group Sales Operations director. JLR is one of the UK’s largest exporters and generates about 85 per cent of its revenue from exports.

With inputs from Agencies