HAPPY OLD YEAR, HAPPY NEW YEAR

Before heading off to the North American International Automobile Show in Detroit, and hence kicking off the automotive year 2011, let's give a round of applause for 2010, writes Stuart Schorr, Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs, Jaguar Land Rover North America.

2010 saw Jaguar Land Rover North America sales rise: Land Rover sales for the year were 31,864, up 21 percent from 26,306 in 2009; Jaguar sales for the year were 13,340, up 12 percent from 11,955 in 2009; Jaguar Land Rover North America sales for the year were 45,204, up 18 percent from 38,261 units in 2009. Double digit sales increases deserve applause in my book.

2010 also saw an avalanche of awards for Jaguar and Land Rover products. The Land Rover LR4, which had a 123 percent sales increase in 2010, was named Petersen's 4 Wheel and Off Road '4X4 of The Year.' Additionally, the Range Rover Sport won, for the 6th consecutive year, Automotive Lease Guide's (ALG) 'Residual Value Award' in the Best Luxury Utility Vehicle category. The all‑new Jaguar XJ, the newest vehicle in the lineup, won prestigious awards from AUTOMOBILE Magazine, Popular Science Magazine, Bloomberg News, MSN.com, and just this past week, was picked as a top ten car of 2010 by two of three New York Times car critics.

From a global financial perspective, Jaguar Land Rover continued to show profitability. In Q2 FY2010‑11, JLR reported a Profit after Tax of GBP 238 million. This was preceded by Q1 FY2010‑11 in which Jaguar Land Rover reported a Profit before Tax of GBP 233.82 million. For the full financial year 2009/10, Jaguar Land Rover had a full year profit before tax of GBP 32 million.

All in all, a pretty good, sales increasing, award‑winning profitable year. We look forward to, and wish you all, an even better one in 2011.

ON TO DETROIT

For 2011, Jaguar Land Rover heads into the Detroit Auto Show with a fresh lineup of vehicles and an even newer management lineup. At the auto show, we will be introducing our two new global brand directors, Adrian Hallmark, Global Brand Director, Jaguar; and John Edwards, Global Brand Director, Land Rover.

Edwards assumes global responsibility for the Land Rover brand. Previously, he was Managing Director, Land Rover UK and Central Europe and has more than 10 years experience with Land Rover. Adrian Hallmark joins the company to assume global responsibility for the Jaguar brand. Previously, Hallmark worked with Saab Automobile, where he was Executive Sales Director; prior to this, he held senior management positions at Porsche, Bentley and Volkswagen. Both Adrian and John will be at the Jaguar Land Rover exhibit at the Detroit Show press preview days on January 10‑11, 2011.