JLR (formerly Jaguar Land Rover) has cut its substantial order backlog to 148,000 as improved global supply has resulted in production being ramped up.
The majority of these cars (around 112,000, or 76%) are Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Defender models, JLR revealed today ahead of posting its full financial results for the third quarter of the 2023 financial year.
The British manufacturer has been hampered by chip and other component constraints, with its backlog hitting a high of 215,000 orders at the end of 2022.
This resulted in customers being told to expect to wait up to two years for delivery, a report by This is Money has claimed. Other reports have cited a similar figure, especially for the most sought-after Range Rover models.
Yet JLR has remained buoyant, claiming that this latest cut in its order backlog has “resulted in improved client waiting times for our highly desirable vehicles”, although it didn't supply a figure.
It will be keen to reduce backlog as quickly as it can ahead of the launch of the much-anticipated Range Rover EV (rendered by Autocar below).
The electric SUV will be built in Solihull alongside its existing mild-hybrid and plug-in hybrid siblings.
JLR has also revealed continued growth in retail (direct to customer) sales ahead of its move to the agency model by the end of the year: up 29% year on year (2% month on month) to 109,140.
So far this financial year JLR has sold 317,695 vehicles, up 26% year on year.
The UK was JLR's fastest-growing retail market, with sales up 55% in the quarter. Meanwhile, China was up 28%, Europe up 27% and North America up 6%.
Regardless of JLR's impending tactical switch, wholesale (sales to dealers) volumes showed no signs of dying off, with numbers up 27% year on year to 101,043 (year to date up 28% to 291,113).
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