Jaguar Land Rover reports $306 million loss in the third quarter of 2022, despite sitting on an order bank of 205,000 cars.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) narrowed its losses for the three-month period to the end of September but remains unable to meet strong demand for its most profitable models due to ongoing chip shortages, the company said.
JLR lost £173 million (AUD$306 million) in the quarter, compared with £302m (AUD$534m) in the same quarter in 2021, as wholesales rose 18 per cent to 89,899 units, according to company figures.
The company is sitting on an order bank of 205,000 cars, 70 per cent of which are for the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Defender. “Demand for our most profitable and desired vehicles remains strong,” CEO Thierry Bolloré said in a statement.
The Defender remained the company’s best-selling car for the period, with wholesales at 17,483 units. The Range Rover Evoque was the number two best-seller, followed by the Range Rover, sales of which more than doubled from the previous quarter to 12,157.
JLR has suffered a slow ramp-up in production of both the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport as it struggled to source chips. However, it said it expects to see the chip shortage ease after “increasing partnership agreements with semiconductor suppliers” that will boost volumes in the next six months.
JLR has benefited from a 38 per cent increase in sales in China, which became its biggest retail market in the last quarter, overtaking Europe.
Jaguar wholesales, meanwhile, were up from the same period last year despite a 19 per cent dip in sales for the I-Pace electric SUV compared with the same period last year. Sales of the Jaguar F-Pace SUV climbed 88 per cent to 7474, making it the brand’s most popular model by far.
Nick Gibbs