UK premium carmaker accelerates manufacturing in China

By Masood Sattar Khan 
(Pakistan News & Features Services) 

The British premium carmaker Jaguar Land Rover's China performance is recovering as the coronavirus outbreak was brought under control and subsequently the economy getting back to normal.

The company disclosed that its sales in March were seven times more than the figure of February, when the pandemic was at its peak in China. Richard Shore, President of Jaguar Land Rover China and Chery Jaguar Land Rover Integrated Marketing, Sales and Service, stated that the recovery surpassed his expectations. 

"Our growth momentum continues in April and our sales are picking up," he said. 

The carmaker's plant at Changshu in Jiangsu province has restarted production and all its dealerships have opened their doors.

Shore remained optimistic about sales potential at least in the second quarter although the pandemic's impact on the Chinese economy and in particular the auto market was still unclear. 

He reckoned that the major reason of the performance lied in China's timely and effective efforts to combat and control the pandemic. 

Within two months, the pandemic has been basically put under control and the economy is steering back to normal, which he called a phenomenal success. 

Shore took the helm of Integrated Marketing, Sales and Service in January, and pushed forward Pan's strategy in the company and launched the next phase of the project ‘Project Dragon.’ 

"Our goal remains 'double growth', which means sustainable growth and win-win results with our dealer partners," Shore said. 

"Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, we wouldn't like to give them too much pressure. Instead, we would like to ensure their profitability, and we believe that is the recipe for sustainable growth," he added. 

Shore remarked that the company will continue to improve dealerships' capabilities through training sessions so that they can better implement the customer first philosophy.