Jaguar Land Rover is attempting to gain traction in China with its flagship saloons as it seeks to break the stranglehold of its dominant German rivals in the world’s largest car market.
The British carmaker – which yesterday opened its first fully fledged manufacturing facility outside the UK in Changshu, near Shanghai – plans to manufacture its premium Jaguar saloons in China, as it seeks to face off with Audi, BMW and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz marque.
JLR sold more than 90,000 cars in China last year, but only 16,000 of these were Jaguars. Its far more popular Range Rovers and Land Rovers command 10 per cent of the market for luxury SUVs.