[King T]

Jaguar Land Rover Reports U.S. Sales for December 2014

-Jaguar Land Rover U.S. December sales increase 2 percent for best December since 2006
-Jaguar up 9 percent on growth of F-TYPE for best December since 2005
-In December, the Range Rover Evoque hits new all-time monthly high of 1,426 units, up 20 percent from December, 2013
-Jaguar Land Rover 2014 full year U.S. sales increases to 67,238 units from 66,962 units in 2013
-For full year 2014, Land Rover brand increases 3 percent to setnew U.S. annual sales record of 51,465 units.
-For 2014, Jaguar F-TYPE delivers an annual sales increase of 83 percent on growth of both coupe and convertible.

(MAHWAH, NJ) - January 5, 2015 - Jaguar Land Rover North America today reported December 2014 U.S. sales: Land Rover sales reached 5,754 units statistically unchanged from 5,764 units in December 2013; Jaguar sales were 1,683 units, up 9 percent from 1,544 units in December 2013. Jaguar Land Rover North America December U.S. sales for both brands hit 7,437 units, a 2 percent increase from 7,308 units in December 2013.

For the full year 2104, Jaguar Land Rover U.S. sales were up with 67,238 units sold in 2014 compared to 66,962 in 2013. For the full year 2014 the Land Rover brand established an all-time annual high for U.S. sales of 51,465.

"We are very pleased Jaguar Land Rover finished 2014 with continued demand for our newest models from both brands and set a new U.S. record for the Land Rover brand," said Joe Eberhardt, President and CEO of Jaguar Land Rover North America. "Our organization and retailers now look to 2015 to build on this success and launch the Land Rover Discovery Sport as well as new versions of popular models including the 16 MY Range Rover Sport SVR and the 16 MY Jaguar F-TYPE with available all-wheel drive and manual transmission."

U.S. BRAND HIGHLIGHTS

Land Rover
For the month of December, Land Rover sales hit its highest monthly sales total of the year with 5,754 units sold. The Range Rover Evoque hit 1,426 units in December, increasing 20 percent and establishing a new all-time U.S. monthly sales record for the SUV.

For the full year 2014, Land Rover brand U.S. sales reached a new all-time high of 51,465 units. Full year sales were led by the brand volume leader Range Rover Sport with 17,897 sales up 12 percent; Range Rover with 12,830 sales up 5 percent and Range Rover Evoque with 12,440 sales up 9 percent.

Jaguar
For the month of December, Jaguar increased 9 percent to 1,683, its highest monthly sales total of the year, led by a 142 percent increase of the Jaguar F-TYPE to 448 units.

For the full year 2014, Jaguar is down 7 percent, ending the year with 15,773 units sold-slightly off of the significantly-increased 2013 sales pace that ended with 16,952 units sold.

In 2014 Jaguar launched one new model, the coupe version of the Jaguar F-TYPE. For the full year, Jaguar F-TYPE coupe and convertible sales hit 4,112 sales, up 83 percent from 2,250 convertible units in 2013. In 2015, the 16 MY Jaguar F-TYPE will newly be available with options of all-wheel drive and a manual transmission.

Land Rover Breaks U.S. Sales Records With High-End Models, Discovery Sport Is Almost Here

• 51,465 Land Rovers sold in America in 2014

• Two top tier models account for six out of every ten Land Rover sales

• Discovery Sport expected to be volume model

2014 was a record-setting year for the Land Rover brand in the United States, and the brand accomplished this feat even though the majority of Land Rover sales were generated by upper-crust Range Rover vehicles.

With the Discovery Sport set to arrive shortly in place of the oft-rejected LR2 (née Freelander), the potential for greater growth at the Land Rover brand becomes much more apparent.

60% of Land Rover sales in the U.S. in 2014 were produced by the Range Rover Sport (base price: $63,350) and Range Rover (base price: $83,495). The Range Rover Evoque, a very premium-priced small luxury utility, was the brand’s third-ranked vehicle. The Evoque was responsible for nearly a quarter of all Land Rover sales, more than the LR2 and LR4 combined.


Combined sales of the Range Rover trio rose 9% to 43,167. Land Rover sold more Range Rover Sports than at any time since 2006, its first full year on sale. Range Rover sales rose to a nine-year high. Range Rover Evoque volume increased for the third consecutive year. 34,990 Evoques have been sold since the nameplate went on sale in the U.S. early in the fourth-quarter of 2011.

Regardless of status – luxury, premium, upmarket, volume, mainstream, niche – it’s very unusual to see a brand ignited by its most costly models. At BMW, for example, the brand’s two entry-level car lines and two entry-level utilities account for 61% of U.S. sales.

Look at Mazda on the opposite side of the coin: only 23% of its sales are produced by its flagship sedan and top-tier crossover, the 6 and CX-9. At Audi, it’s the A3, A4, Q3, and Q5 that do the heavy lifting (to the tune of 59% of all Audi USA sales), not the A6, A7, A8, R8, and Q7, which account for only 31% of Audi sales.

Thus, if Land Rover’s top-tier Range Rover models continue to steadily increase their popularity but are finally joined by an entry-level variant that bears a traditional portion of the burden, Land Rover’s record-setting sales accumulation is likely to expand at a much faster pace than it did in 2014.

Overall new vehicle sales rose 6% and SUV/crossover sales were up 12%. Land Rover, which did indeed sell more SUVs than at any time in its history, only posted a 3% year-over-year improvement. Even if Discovery Sport sales begin at mid-pack levels in the small luxury utility vehicle arena – 20,000 annual U.S. sales, for instance – and the brand’s other models failed to increase their volume, Land Rover could still potentially sell more than 65,000 vehicles in 2015. Who knows, diesel engines might help, too.