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Jaguar Land Rover has clocked its strongest full-year revenue in a decade because the UK luxury-car maker contends with the impression of US tariffs and the implementation of a controversial overhaul of its most famed model.
Pre-tax revenue for the yr to March 31 elevated 15 per cent to £2.5bn, the corporate stated on Tuesday, on flat revenues of £29bn. Revenue earlier than tax and distinctive objects within the closing quarter was £875mn, up from £661mn yr on yr. It additionally achieved its goal to grow to be web money constructive, with £278mn.
The robust set of outcomes come regardless of a broadly derided model redesign for Jaguar that was unveiled in November to deal with flagging gross sales. The corporate dropped the model’s huge cat emblem as a part of its rebranding and its advertising and marketing marketing campaign featured an advert with no vehicles.
Chief government Adrian Mardell stated: “JLR has ended the year with strong annual and quarterly earnings, including delivering our tenth consecutive profitable quarter and our net debt zero target.”
Nevertheless, the corporate adopted another carmakers together with Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz in holding again on issuing forecasts for the approaching yr. JLR stated it was assessing the impression of “global challenges” and would supply an replace at an investor day on June 16.
The outcomes observe the UK’s commerce take care of the US final week. The settlement secured concessions for British carmakers, together with a discount within the US’s import tariff to 10 per cent from the preliminary 27.5 per cent imposed by President Donald Trump final month.
The Coventry-based firm stated it might “continue to engage with the UK government on the detail of the trade deal”. In an earnings name, Mardell stated he welcomed the UK authorities’s pledge to again the auto sector “to the hilt” within the face of US tariffs and the following settlement that brings “greater certainty” for the sector. Nevertheless, he added the corporate was nonetheless “waiting for confirmation of the effective date” that the deal can be carried out.
The commerce deal — introduced as Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited a JLR manufacturing facility — introduced reduction for the UK’s wider auto trade, which sends roughly one in six of all shipped vehicles to the US, the biggest marketplace for the UK’s luxurious automotive manufacturers.
The Tata Motors-owned group, which additionally produces the Vary Rover and Land Rover Defender fashions, had paused in April shipments of vehicles to the US for one month because it sought to work out a longer-term response to the tariffs. The corporate generates nearly 1 / 4 of its gross sales within the US however has no native manufacturing functionality within the nation. Mardell stated on Tuesday the corporate had “no plans to build cars in the US at this point in time”.
JLR — which is aiming to make its provide chain and operations web zero by 2039 — will subsequent yr relaunch Jaguar as an all-electric and extremely high-end model, promoting the majority of its automobiles for greater than £100,000. Within the interim, Jaguar has stopped promoting new vehicles within the UK and ceased manufacturing of most of its petrol fashions.
Gross sales of its plug-in hybrid fashions over the one-year interval rose 21.7 per cent, JLR stated, as shoppers undertake hybrid fashions as a bridge to completely electrical.
The corporate stated it welcomed the federal government’s modifications to the zero emissions car (ZEV) mandate final month, which is able to enhance flexibility for producers on the sale of hybrid fashions earlier than they’re phased out in 2035.
In its outcomes on Tuesday, JLR stated greater than 32,000 individuals had “expressed interest” in Jaguar’s forthcoming electrical GT mannequin. The corporate additionally stated there was a ready listing of 62,000 for its electrical Vary Rover.
The corporate expects funding spend to stay at £18bn over a five-year interval, funded by operational money flows.
