Jaguar Land Rover is happy to report sales are picking up and 2023 is looking particularly strong. As of December 31, 2022, the automotive conglomerate owned by Tata Motors had a whopping 215,000 client orders, with about 10,000 orders added since the end of September. As expected, the increased interest is fueled by fresh products such as the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, both of which can be had with a twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 from BMW.
In addition, the Defender remains a popular choice, especially now with an eight-seat version. From October until December, JLR's wholesale volumes rose to 79,591 units or 5.7 percent more compared to the previous quarter and by 15 percent compared to the same quarter of 2021. Deliveries in North America increased by 17 percent while shipments to the UK were up by 10 percent. Demand dropped by 13 percent in China due to the coronavirus pandemic and by three percent in Europe.
2022 Land Rover Range Rover: 2022 Motor1.com Star Awards
Despite positive results, Jaguar Land Rover's CEO Thierry Bollore unexpectedly decided to step down at the end of last year, citing personal reasons. Let's keep in mind Jaguar will be reinvented as a purely electric brand as early as 2025, but without any new products launched until then. The transition to an EV-only marque was announced by the former head honcho with the "Reimagine" global strategy presented in February 2021.
One of the first decisions taken by Thierry Bollore after he was appointed CEO was to cancel the electric XJ, which was just about to be revealed. Like the aborted J-Pace large SUV, it was supposed to ride on the MLA platform and take on the likes of the Mercedes EQS and BMW i7. As to why it was axed at the last minute, JLR "concluded that the planned XJ replacement does not fit with our vision for a reimaged Jaguar brand."
As a refresher, the Reimagine plan also calls for no fewer than six electric Land Rover models based on the Range Rover, Discovery, and Defender. The first of the bunch is scheduled to arrive in 2024, with 60 percent of all Land Rover sales to be represented by EVs by the end of the decade. It's too soon to say whether the agenda will be changed under the new management.
