Jaguar Land Rover said its global retail sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2022/2023 were flat vs Q4 2021/2022 as renewed Covid-19 lockdowns in China restricted local production and forced the temporary closure of some dealers.
Despite a record order book, sales also continued to be constrained by the global chip shortage, compounded by the run out of the old model Range Rover Sport, with deliveries of the full redesign just starting.
Retail sales for the quarter ending 30 June 2022 were 78,825 vehicles, broadly flat (183 units lower) compared with the previous quarter to 31 March 2022 and down 37% (46,000 units) from the year ago quarter ending 30 June 2021. Compared to the prior quarter, retails were higher in UK (+10%) and Europe (+49%) but were lower in China (-5%), North America (-30%) and overseas (-10%) reflecting the transition to new models and delivery times to these markets.
Wholesale volume was 71,815 units in the period (excluding the China joint venture), down 6% compared to the previous quarter.
Record order book
The automaker said it “continues to see strong demand for its products, with global retail orders again setting new records in the quarter. As at the 30 June 2022, the total order book has grown to almost 200,000 units, up around 32,000 orders from [Q4].
“Demand for the New Range Rover, New Range Rover Sport and Defender are particularly strong with over 62,000, 20,000 and 46,000 orders respectively.”
JLR added it expected to report unaudited financial results for the first quarter late in July.
