The first customer-ready Range Rover Evoque rolled off the production line at Jaguar Land Rover's Halewood manufacturing facility in the UK on Monday afternoon, as the company plans to ramp up its spending on products by 50 per cent.
Jaguar Land Rover will increase its spending on products to £1.5 billion a year for the next five years, against its previous target of £1 billion a year, the company confirmed on Monday.
It is part of the company's drive “announced earlier this year – for 40 new significant product actions” over the next five years, across both brands. The spending will be on developing new models, engines, technologies and vehicle lines, the company said.
The ramp up comes amid booming sales for the British brand acquired by Tata Motors in June 2008. Global sales of Jaguar Land Rover rose 17 per cent in May from a year earlier, with sales for the year till that date 13 per cent higher than the equivalent period last year.
Profits after tax at Jaguar Land Rover rose to £1.04 billion in the financial year ending March 31, a massive turnaround for a business that had returned to profitability a year earlier.
The Evoque
Jaguar Land Rover is touting the Evoque as one of its most significant releases to date, being the first all-new vehicle launched by the subsidiary since the Tata takeover.
The company has said it expects the car to be its fastest selling in the Range Rover range, with 18,000 global orders already taken to date. The car is being produced at the company's Halewood plant in the Merseyside area, creating around a 1,000 new jobs.
The Evoque will be the smallest, and most fuel efficient Range Rover to date, pitching itself to a slicker, and more urban audience. The company has embarked on an ambitious marketing drive, including by working with designer Victoria Beckham, who will champion the car.
Pricing starts at £27.955 for a basic five door, two-wheel-drive model up to £44,320 for an Si4 5 Speed automatic Dynamic coupe, with a full-sized fixed panoramic glass roof.