Currently reading: Jaguar Land Rover posts £395 million loss due to falling sales
Struggling car market and planned Brexit-based plant shutdowns hit British firm's profits, but bosses insist it is on track for 'profitable growth'

Jaguar Land Rover recorded a £395 million loss in the last three months, due to declining sales and the impact of a planned Brexit shutdown – but company boss Ralf Speth insists the firm is on track to deliver “sustainable profitable growth” in the future.

The British firm sold 128,615 vehicles in the first three months of the 2019/2020 financial year running from April until June, a 11.6 per cent year-on-year decline. Those sales results in Jaguar Land Rover achieving £5.07 billion of revenue, down 2.8% year-on-year. The pre-tax loss of £395 million compared to £264 million in the same period last year.

As well as declining sales, Jaguar Land Rover’s profits were also affected by it shutting its factories in April as a contingency to coincide with the original planned date of Britain’s exit from the European Union. The results were in line with the company’s outlook for the quarter.

There were some positives, with UK sales for the period up 2.6% year-on-year, while the firm also says that sales in China – where Jaguar Land Rover has struggled in a declining market – rose in June compared with the previous month.

Jaguar Land Rover also said that sales of the Jaguar I-Pace and Range Rover Evoque were up year-on-year, and says the recent arrival of facelifted versions of the Range Rover Discovery Sport and Jaguar XE should help.

The company is undergoing a major £2.5 billion cost-cutting project in a bid to boost profitability, and Jaguar Land Rover claims it has already delivered £100 million in savings.

Speth said that the firm was “in a period of major transformation”, adding: “We will build on our strong foundations and increased operating efficiency to return to profit this fiscal year.”

Speth added that the firm was creating a “more robust and resilient business”, and said that new products, including the forthcoming Land Rover Defender, “will pave the way for sustainable profitable growth.”

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James Attwood

James Attwood, digital editor
Title: Acting magazine editor

James is Autocar's acting magazine editor. Having served in that role since June 2023, he is in charge of the day-to-day running of the world's oldest car magazine, and regularly interviews some of the biggest names in the industry to secure news and features, such as his world exclusive look into production of Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets. 

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CharlieBrown 26 July 2019

Can’t be long before Tata Motors dumps the JLR dog

Can’t belong before Tata Motors dumps the JLR dog onto another turnaround king like PSA

Cobnapint 26 July 2019

Thought the shutdown

Was supposed to 'save' money....
mrking 26 July 2019

100% agree, it's the quality that's lacking

most people want something that looks good, goes well and doesn't give them any hassle. It's the combination of niggling issues, crap dealers and a very stingy attitude to customer relations that's killing them in terms of repeat sales. Long time customer of JLR (5 new cars over 15 years). On the last one - Wheels massivly corroded after 4 years - tough luck, get them repainted yourself for £400+ A friend has a similar issue with his Volvo and they were falling over to help him and his car was much older. The solution? Buy a Volvo!

Sunshine 26 July 2019

I definitely agree with that

I definitely agree with that sentiment, I’ve had awful dealings with Mercedes over a nearly new car. Apparently the main dealer I bought from in Bolton is a franchise. Mercedes uk told me they had zero power to force them to do anything. The arrogance is astonishing with a lot of these places. If they do go belly up maybe a good look in the mirror is necessary!

mrking wrote:

most people want something that looks good, goes well and doesn't give them any hassle. It's the combination of niggling issues, crap dealers and a very stingy attitude to customer relations that's killing them in terms of repeat sales. Long time customer of JLR (5 new cars over 15 years). On the last one - Wheels massivly corroded after 4 years - tough luck, get them repainted yourself for £400+ A friend has a similar issue with his Volvo and they were falling over to help him and his car was much older. The solution? Buy a Volvo!