Tata Motors' JLR sales decline 12.2% in May on weak demand in China

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the UK subsidiary of Tata Motors, on Tuesday reported a decline of 12.2 per cent on year-on-year basis in retail sales in May at 42,370 units hit by weak demand in China, overseas market and Europe. The Britain's largest carmaker had posted a fall of 13.3 per cent in April and a dip of 8.2 per cent in March, as consumer sentiments in China and emission regulations continued to weigh on the sales.

Of the brands, Jaguar sales were down 9.4 per cent y-o-y to 13,142 units in May, while Land Rover retailed 29,228 vehicles, 13.5 per cent lower compared to May 2018.

"Higher retail sales of the new Range Rover Evoque and the all-electric I-PACE were offset by lower sales of other models, primarily in China. Sales of the Discovery Sport were lower ahead of the introduction of the refreshed model, which is now on sale following its reveal in May," Tata Motors said in filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Region wise, retail sales were marginally down by 1.5 per cent in North America and also lower in other markets including the UK (-6.7%), Europe (-9.6%), Overseas markets (-18.4%) and China (-26.4%) where market conditions remain challenging, Tata Motors said.

For January-May period, JLR total retail sales slipped 9.7 per cent to 240,471 vehicles as compared to the same period last year.

Commenting on monthly sales performance, Felix Brautigam, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer, said: "Although sales dipped at Jaguar this month, we were pleased to see the continued strong response to the award-winning I-PACE. We also launched the Jaguar E-PACE Chequered Flag edition, which generated a high level of interest with customers and commentators alike."

"May saw two important milestones for Land Rover with the debut of significant model updates. The brand's best-selling Discovery Sport premium compact SUV has been transformed from the ground up, making it almost a new car," he added.

Earlier this month, JLR announced collaboration with BMW Group to develop next generation Electric Drive Units (EDUs) in a move that will support the advancement of electrification technologies, a central part of the automotive industry's transition to an ACES (Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared) future.

"The agreement will enable both companies to take advantage of efficiencies arising from shared research and development and production planning as well as economies of scale from joint procurement across the supply chain," JLR had said.

Meanwhile, shares of Tata Motors were trading at Rs 169.50 apiece, up 2.02 per cent, on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Edited by Chitranjan Kumar

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