Record-Breaking Year For Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover has posted record annual profits, according to owner Tata Motors.

In the year to March 31, the firm had a turnover of £9.9bn, with a profit after tax of £1.04bn.

It is a dramatic turnaround for a company which only two years ago was seeking the Goernment's help to put a survival package together.

The company was considering closing one of its three UK manufacturing centres.

It is understood that JLR has plans to build a new £750m engine plant somewhere in Britain, possibly in Wolverhampton, with the creation of 1,000 jobs.

A change in fortunes has been driven by emerging markets in China and India, where sales have been growing rapidly.

Heavy investment by owners Tata Motors has seen the development of new models such as the Range Rover Evoque and the Jaguar XJ.

With the backing of Tata, JLR has a five-year plan to develop what it calls 40 new product actions.

These will include new models, new engines and other business developments.

It is a mark of their new found confidence in the light of a rise in worldwide sales.

The British built cars are seen as status symbols in places like China and India, where March 2011 sales were up 33% and 61% respectively.

In the UK more Land Rovers were sold in March this year than any other month in the company's 63-year history.

Impressive sales figures have also been returned from Russia and Germany.

A spokesman for Jaguar Land Rover said that a billion pounds a year is being spent on product creation, with British-based research and development.