China’s booming demand for western goods drives JLR profits to £1.5bn

The Midlands-based manufacturer, owned by Indian company Tata Motors, reported a 35 per cent rise in its surplus for the year to the end of March, boosted by strong demand for its Range Rover Evoque.

Sales in China showed strong growth and now account for nearly one in five of the cars sold by the business.

The impressive performance underlines the resurgent fortunes of the UK’s car manufacturing industry, which is now exporting more in value terms than it imports for the first time since the 1970s.

The number of cars JLR sold over the course of the year hit a record 314,433, up 29 per cent on the previous year, while revenues increased 37 per cent to £13.5bn.

The UK remained its biggest market for retail sales, up 3.2 per cent to 60,000.

But its two second biggest markets closed the gap, with China, where the booming middle classes continue to show a strong appetite for western luxury goods, up 76 per cent, and North America seeing 15 per cent growth.

JLR enjoyed a strong final quarter of its financial year, with the number of cars it sold up 48 per cent to 98,000.

Of these, 19 per cent went to China, compared to 13 per cent in the same period the previous year.

The company, which employs 21,000 staff in the UK, has seen a dramatic turnaround in fortunes in recent years since the car market collapsed in the recession and it slumped to a loss.