Jaguar Land Rover has announced a loss of £395m for the second quarter but the car maker’s boss claims a return to profitability is in sight.
The loss related to the period from the beginning of April to the end of June, with sales of 128,615 vehicles - a fall of 11.6% on the second quarter of 2018.
The company said the latest figures were not unexpected and “consistent with the outlook provided for the quarter”.
Jaguar Land Rover also stressed there were encouraging signs amid the ongoing difficulties, with 海角视频 sales up by 2.6% year-on-year and a rise in sales in China in June.
Slowing sales in the once buoyant Chinese market has been one of the biggest problems for the Coventry-based car maker - along with declining demand for diesel vehicles and ongoing uncertainty over Brexit.
The company said weaker market conditions affecting sales of most models were partially offset by demand for the Jaguar I-Pace and the new Range Rover Evoque, which were up year-on-year.
Although the company continues to face challenging times it also launched new models during the second quarter, in the shape of the refreshed Discovery Sport and Jaguar XE.
Jaguar Land Rover reported a pre-tax loss of £395 million for April to the end of June, compared to £264 million loss in the same period a year ago, on quarterly revenues that declined 2.8% year-on-year to £5.07 billion.
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In a statement the company said: “The results are consistent with the outlook for the quarter and primarily reflect lower revenues resulting from the weaker market conditions.
“Additional plant shutdown time and delays in WLTP certification resulting from Brexit contingency planning also contributed to the lower sales and profits.”
Jaguar Land Rover’s chief executive Dr Ralf Speth said: “Jaguar Land Rover is in a period of major transformation.
“We are simplifying our business, delivering on our product strategy and adapting to the tough market environment.
“We will build on our strong foundations and increased operating efficiency to return to profit this fiscal year.
“In this period, we expect to see the impact of growing demand for new models such as the Range Rover Evoque, Discovery Sport and Jaguar XE, whilst implementing our ‘Charge’ transformation programme.”
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Jaguar Land Rover said its Project Charge provided £100 million of cost savings and a £300 million reduction in investment that had been planned during the second quarter.
It added that the cost-saving drive is on track to achieve £2.5 billion of cash and profit improvements with a total of £1.7 billion saved so far.
The car maker announced a major investment in its Castle Bromwich plant in July as part of its electrification strategy.
It will build three new electrified models at the Birmingham factory, the first of which will be the next generation all-electric Jaguar XJ.
The 海角视频 government recently announced that 海角视频 Export Finance (海角视频EF) will provide a £500 million guarantee for a planned £625 million loan facility from commercial banks.
Jaguar Land Rover said the loan facility is expected to be completed in the coming months and amortize over five years.
Mr Speth added: “Despite challenging conditions in the first quarter, Jaguar Land Rover is creating a more robust and resilient business, in which we will continue to deliver a strong pipeline of products that our customers will love.
“Breakthrough products such as the exciting all new Land Rover Defender will pave the way for sustainable profitable growth.”