It’s a classic case of being stung by your own success. Jaguar Land Rover is reported to have underestimated demand for the recently released Range Rover Sport and the larger Range Rover by as much as 40%, according to a report by the Bernstein Research Group.
A Jaguar Land Rover spokesman told a reporter for the Automotive News that the waiting list for the Range Rover Sport is currently nine months, while the larger Range Rover, despite having been on sale since the beginning of the year, still carries a six month waiting list.
Demand is highest in China, where impatient buyers are reported to be willing to spend the equivalent of €60,000 (£50,000) to reach the top of the list – all on top of the list price which can be as high as 2.8 million yuan (€338,000/£280,000).
There’s little that Jaguar Land Rover can do to ease the wait, as their Solihull factory is already working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition, they still need engines from their supplier Ford Motor Co, and the Jaguar Land Rover director of research and technology, Wolfgang Epple, has reported that they simply aren’t getting enough.
For the future, they are reportedly close to signing a deal to build a factory in Brazil. This is one of their key growth markets, and the factory would assemble vehicles from British made parts to ease some of the pressure on UK production. However this will naturally take some time to have any effect. Jaguar Land Rover will also begin producing their own range of four cylinder engines in 2015, with a modular powerplant that could be doubled to eight cylinders if the business case for in-house V8 production is made.
Whether you’re on the waiting list for one of these great new vehicles or not, if you’re a fan of Jaguar Land Rover and have a vehicle to keep on the road then you’ll be pleased to know that we have a great range of 4×4, Range Rover and Land Rover spares from fully guaranteed gearboxes to wheels. Whatever you need, get in touch with us and we’ll be happy to help.