Jaguar land Rover is made in Britain, saved in India cash, and is craved by the Chinese. Jaguar Land Rover, or the savvier JLR, made a huge profit of £1.1 billion in 2010-11. This is the approximate amount Tata Group had to shell out in 2007-2008 to buy the brand. It wouldn’t have been possible for the now Tata Group JLR brand to amass so much of profit every year if they restricted their operations and market reach to just UK and the USA.It is the Chinese drivers that kept the TATA JLR coffers full. Conservative reports say that they are around 1.4 million millionaires (these millionaires are not in Yuan terms but in US Dollar terms). Another section that is witnessing maximum surge is the demand for used Jaguar and other luxury car models.
JLR Driving on Chinese Boom
It is true that most of the roads in China are clogged and are hardly suitable for luxury cars. However, this fact doesn’t restrict the Dollar-millionaires of the country (especially the factory owners who are becoming richer by buying labour cheap and earning loads by selling to the world at cheaper rate). With so much surplus stacked in their banks, these millionaires are flaunting their riches by buying luxury cars such as Jaguar Land Rover, Ferrari, and sometimes Rolls Royce. In fact, reports say, China is the biggest market for the legendary blue-blooded Rolls Royce, the all time great luxury saloon cars. No matter whether it is Bentley, Ferrari, or other, Jaguar Land Rover SUVs have a special liking among the Chinese billionaires (who love to get into chauffeur driven SUVs and other luxury cars). While in 2003, JLR sold just over 400 cars (431 to be precise), the number stands at 119,048 vehicles in a single year (last year – that is 2016). Not only the new ones, there has been tremendous surge in the market of used Jaguar models (including used Jaguar XF models). Used Jaguar cars are a hot cake among the young and happening Chinese generation, who want to savor the US life at the expense of their billionaire family’s income.
What’s the Indian Connection?
Jaguar has seen many ups and down. It was first nationalized, followed by privatization by UK PM Thatcher in the 1980s. It was Ford which bought Land Rover from BMW in the year 2000. However, Ford made numerous mistakes and the brand was on the brink of bankruptcy when Indian MNC TATA came to the rescue. Tata bought the JLR mammoth back in 2008 and turned it into a profitable saga, which is earning Tata Motors their well required momentum in these tumultuous times. So, it is the Indian cash that saved the ailing British mammoth, earning riches from the constantly expanding Chinese market.
India is not Far Behind
Lately surge in demand for used Jaguar XF models in Delhi and other metros can be witnessed. Not only the used ones but the new jaguar SUVs are witnessing significant rise in demand. Thanks to the rising number of billionaires and millionaires in India, Jaguar cars and other luxury models are seeing a huge surge in demand. Reports say there are over 2.36 lakh millionaires in India and the number is steadily rising. It is these millionaires who are generating steady demand for new and used Jaguar cars in India. During 2016 calendar year, the company has sold 5,83,312 units, which is in itself a record. This sales figure is 20 per cent higher than that of last year (2015). In December 2016 itself, the luxury car company sold 16,349 units, thanks to the high demand for Jaguar XF in China.
