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Jaguar Land Rover sales are down 1 percent so far this year due
to a 29 percent fall in China, the world's largest car market,
where an economic slowdown, stock market slump and currency
devaluation have hit demand for cars.
But CEO Ralf Speth said that sales will rise this year compared
to the 462,678 models the firm sold in 2014, with other regions
able to compensate for the fall.
"Other markets can neutralize... (such as) the UK, Europe and
the U.S," he told journalists at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
"We expect that sales are definitely bigger in 2015 than
2014...but it would be too early to give you the exact number."
China was Jaguar Land Rover's fastest growing market last year,
with sales up 28 percent, but volumes have fallen this yea,
driving global sales so far this year down 1 percent to 301,778
cars.
Speth said that Jaguar Land Rover would benefit from ramping up
production in the country but that the "new normal" of slower
growth in the Chinese market had come faster than anyone had
predicted.
"The time of the two-digit growth is over. We will see a
normalized figure of, let's say, in between 4 and 7 percent,
that depends on who is calculating it," he said.
On Monday, Jaguar launched its first crossover sports utility
vehicle, the latest part of a major expansion of its model range
and volumes as it enters an area that has become increasingly
popular among women and families.
(Reporting By Costas Pitas; editing by)
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