Welcome to our weekly Jaguar Land Rover news digest, in which we share stories from across the media about Britain’s biggest car maker.

Jaguar Land Rover continues to be in the news right now, in part as it seeks to deal with a number of challenges - including slowing sales in China, declining demand for diesel vehicles and Brexit uncertainty.

Recent coverage has included some good news for the car maker when the prevailing theme has been one of doom and gloom.

Stories over the last week included the release of new pictures and video footage of the all-new Land Rover Defender being tested in Dubai.

The clock is ticking down to the formal unveiling of the Defender, likely to be at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, and it is without doubt one of the most eagerly anticipated vehicle unveilings of recent years.

The new Land Rover Defender being tested in Dubai
The new Land Rover Defender being tested in Dubai

The old Defender, which rolled off the production lines for the last time in 2016, was an undisputed automotive icon and the process to create its successor has been a lengthy one.

The latest Defender images showing prototypes being tested in the desert were widely reported around the world.

Elsewhere there was good news for the car maker in that it was revealed July saw a surge in sales in China.

As tough times continue in the automotive industry the boss of Tata said they would be looking at finding partners moving forward.

This would appear to fall short of reports of a takeover, with reports French car giant PSA was in the running, but definitely suggests Jaguar Land Rover is going to struggle to go it alone.

Elsewhere it was reported that Jaguar Land Rover is set to launch five new models over the next five years - they include the Defender, an all-new Jaguar XJ, the Jaguar J-Pace, an SUV being referred to as the Road Rover and an all-new Range Rover.

Latest pictures of new Land Rover Defender in the desert

Land Rover has released more pictures of its soon to be unveiled all-new Defender being tested in the Dubai desert.

A Defender prototype was put through its paces watched by off-road experts from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in the latest stage of its global testing programme.

The prototype vehicle visited the IFRC global fleet base in Dubai, ahead of its public debut later this year.

Land Rover engineers demonstrated the new Defender’s capability both on and off-road, and IFRC fleet experts got to test the vehicle themselves on desert sand dunes and the Jebel Jais highway.

Testing also included ascending the tallest mountain in the United Arab Emirates.

You can read the full CoventryLive story here.

Jaguar Land Rover says China sales in July surge 40% over prior-year

According to Gasgoo, a website covering analysis on the Chinese automotive industry, Jaguar Land Rover saw sales in China surge in July.

It said: “Jaguar Land Rover said on July 31 its China sales in July 2019 surged 40 per cent compared with the same period a year ago, laying a sound foundation for the company to strengthen business reform during the second half of the year.

Jaguar Land Rover Global Headquarters in Whitley, Coventry
Jaguar Land Rover Global Headquarters in Whitley, Coventry

“The UK premium carmaker saw its monthly sales in China grow month over month for two consecutive months during the second quarter—sales in April, May and June reached 7,049 units, 7,743 units and 9,532 units respectively, according to data announced by Jaguar Land Rover.

“The automaker said it took a series of measures to proactively improve its marketing ability and profitability, such as changing the sales goal and offering preferential policies to reduce dealers’ inventories.”

You can read the full report here.

Tata chairman N Chandrasekaran says in talks with partners for JLR

British automotive brands Jaguar Land Rover will have to scout for partners to fund its massive appetite of capital expenditure (capex), which was cut down by nearly a fifth by parent company Tata Motors during the last 12-18 months, Money Control reported.

Speaking to shareholders at the 74th annual general meeting (AGM), N Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Motors, said that the company is evaluating proposals for a tie-up.

Logo of the Jaguar Land Rover company

Mr Chandrasekaran said: “The only way to handle the need for capex, additional investments is through partnerships.

“Because we want to spread investments across larger volumes, and there are many discussions from tactical to strategic, these opportunities keep coming and we keep evaluating them.

“As long as this is in the interest of Tata Motors, we will keep looking at partnership to address capex.”

You can read the full story here.

JLR to launch five new vehicles in 2020-2021

Ambitious plans to launch a raft of new models over the next two years have been highlighted by FormaCar.

The website said: “In accordance with the recently published release strategy for the next two years, Jaguar Land Rover will be launching five new models before the end of 2021. The first premiere will occur in September.

“The company says all cars will be based on the MLA platform and will highlight the brand’s gradual switch to electric power. Mild and plug-in hybrids will be the first to arrive, followed by all-electric models later on.

“The first premiere, scheduled for the IAA Frankfurt on September 12-22, 2019, will be dedicated to the next-generation Defender series.

“The next one in line is the XJ, a new all-electric sedan/saloon flagship that will also be available as a gasoline hybrid.

“The Jaguar J-Pace full-size SUV will premiere in 2021, and a brand-new all-electric SUV should follow later that year (presumably called the Road Rover). The next generation of the traditional Range Rover will also emerge before 2022.”

You can read the full FormaCar story here.

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