British premium car makers Bentley and Jaguar Land Rover have both posted big sales jumps during 2011, according to press reports. It is also claimed that Land Rover is planning to significantly expand its Halewood operation on Merseyside, in light of the runaway success of the new Range Rover Evoque.
Bentley’s global sales leapt 37 per cent in 2011, pushing the total to 7003. The company’s previous peak sales were just over 10,000 units in 2007, the year before the credit crunch tipped much of the world into recession. December’s sales alone jumped 69 per cent, year-on-year, to 1059 units.
The US - at 2021 sales - is the company’s biggest market, followed by China which saw sales nearly double to 1839 units. Sales in Germany jumped 88 per cent. Sales in the UK crept up just five per cent in 2011 to 1031 units.
Meanwhile, a report from the Daily Telegraph says that Land Rover could double the size of the Halewood operation, although the plans are at an early stage.
Any expansion of Halewood would give extra credence to the strong rumours that Land Rover is planning an ‘Evoque XL’, which is designed to slot between the current Evoque and the much-larger Range Rover Sport. The Evoque XL could be based on a stretched version of the Evoque’s LR-MS platform.
Land Rover sales for 2011 could also be on course for a 30 per cent year-on-year jump, according to the Telegraph.
