Net profits at India's largest automotive manufacturer tripled to 53.98 billion rupees ($882 million) in the three months to the end of June, far exceeding analysts' expectations had expected. Revenue grew by nearly 40 percent.
In the quarter ending June 30, JLR’s revenues hit £5.4b billion, a 31 percentage rise of £1.3 billion on the same period last year. Pre-tax profit more than doubled from £415 million to £924 million prompting CEO Ralf Speth to say: “This financial performance reflects Jaguar Land Rover’s award-winning product portfolio."
Nevertheless Tata Motors is striving to turn around its local business, which has suffered as a result of India's economic slowdown. It has lost market share to rivals in India's auto market over the past year while sales of its domestic trucks and buses fell by 28 percent. The Tata Nano is the world's cheapest car and was designed to capture a new mass market, but has performed poorly over the last year. However a compact sedan, named the Zest, has been developed to revive profitability at the Indian business. The company's first new car model in five years, the new Zest will be launched this week.
