Jaguar Land Rover expands its presence in China

World premium luxury car company Jaguar Land Rover expects China to become its largest market in the next few years, according to Bob Grace, president of Jaguar Land Rover China.

At Auto Shanghai 2011, visitors will be dazzled by the stunning line-up of models from Jaguar and Land Rover, including the world premiere of the Jaguar XJ 3.0, a luxury business sedan specifically developed for China.

Land Rover also formally launches its exciting new Range Rover Evoque and the Range Rover Autobiography Ultimate, the most powerful and luxurious Range Rover ever produced.

The ever-expanding product offering in China underlines Jaguar Land Rover's efforts to speed up expansion in the world's largest auto market, given the company's ambition to be a much more competitive player.

These two British brands have been increasing in popularity in China, as evidenced by their strong performance in the first quarter of this year.

Jaguar sold 820 units in China for the first quarter of this year, an increase of 39 percent year on year. Sales of Land Rover surged 49 percent to 7,745 units.

According to Grace, Jaguar Land Rover aims to sell over 40,000 vehicles in China this year, which will be a significant growth of 54 percent over last year's 26,000 units

Shanghai Daily interviewed Grace at Auto Shanghai 2011 and he discussed the company's strategy to stand out from the competition as well as its new products.

-- What is China's role in Jaguar Land Rover's global portfolio?

China is the third-biggest market for Jaguar Land Rover, after the United Kingdom and North America. But the gap is closing very, very quickly.

Many forecasters have predicted luxury car sales in China will reach one million units a year by 2018 to 2020. I think we will get there much sooner. Jaguar Land Rover wants to be a significant part of it and ready for this growth. Big cities like Beijing have started to limit vehicle ownership to tackle pollution and gridlock.

-- Will this impact your sales and how will you adapt to the change?

The early indication is that we have to find more innovative ways of communicating with our customers. We are looking at ways of growing our used-car operations to allow customers to trade-in their existing cars. There will be some impact, but for my brand, the market will still be positive. What we have seen from dealers in Beijing, across luxury brands, is that customers who obtain a car registration plate are looking to trade-in vehicles of high value rather than low value.

-- What are your plans for dealership expansion in China?

We established the national sales company in July last year to localize our vehicle sales operations here in China. In 2010 we increased our dealers from 40 to 60 and by the end of the year there will be very close to 100. We built two training academies, one in Shanghai opened nine months ago, and another one opened last week in Beijing. We will soon open our fourth parts distribution center in Guangzhou. We are also working with many Chinese investors to expand our dealership network to bring Jaguar Land Rover closer to our customers and to enable us to offer great sales and customer service experiences.

-- What are the key factors defining luxury cars in China?

I think Chinese customers are looking for a brand that's differentiated. Take the XJ 3.0-liter, for example. It's very much a noble business salute: it's stylish, it's sophisticated, and it's contemporary without being too overt. It's a car for those who want to signal they are not average and for those who have achieved what they want to achieve in their lives. They want luxury details and comfort.

-- How will the Jaguar XJ drive your business in China?

The new XJ gives us access to the largest segment of the luxury car market. Added to that, we will bring in new features including wider rear seats, a massage feature, and heating and cooling in the seats, all for customers who want differentiated luxury in their car.

-- What's the new branding strategy this year?

We have very extensive marketing campaigns. We are on TV across the country and in magazines. But in the next six months, the main focus for Range Rover Evoque will be online media as social media in China is having a fundamental impact. The customer profile of Evoque is much younger, with a greater percentage of women. So we need to change our marketing focus, and clearly here in China, social media is going to be playing a major part. Localization has been a key strategy for luxury car makers to boost their presence.