Jaguar Land Rover ‘studying automotive cluster in KSA’

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) regional director Bruce Robertson confirmed ambitious regional expansion plans that would include growth of dealerships by 60% to 64 outlets throughout the region.
These would include three new service centers in Saudi Arabia in Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah. Robertson also explained that JLR continues joint studies with the KSA government for an automotive cluster in the country.
However, he declined to disclose further details or timeframe for the study as it is confidential at this stage.

These are highlights of the interview with Robertson:

What are JLR objectives in 2015 in the region in terms of sales targets and expansion of dealers’ showrooms networks and services?
2015 looks set to be a busy year for us across all areas of the business — we are on track to grow our dealerships by around 60 percent to 64 across 18 MENA markets by 2017/2018, with a number of strategic actions planned in 2015 in key markets to support this.
Globally, we recently revealed several projects specifically tailored for our customers such as the Special Operations Division, and I think this will remain a focus for us in 2015, catering to the growing appetite for customization and personalization in the region.
We also have a number of regional-specific brand campaigns that are designed to connect with our regional customers and engage them on an emotional level including our recently launched MYLAND creative platform that celebrates Arab heritage and culture.
On Jaguar, we will also be announcing the winners of a unique competition ‘Design XE’, created to challenge university students to unleash their creativity by designing their own piece of art inspired by the new Jaguar XE.

What new models are likely to arrive in the region during the New Year?
This year, we are looking forward to seeing the reaction of customers across the region when start of sales begins for two of our most hotly anticipated models – our Jaguar XE mid-sized sports saloon and Land Rover Discovery Sport, the world’s most versatile and capable premium compact SUV. We also have our 2015 Jaguar and Land Rover line-up — by far our most comprehensive and impressive to date – including enhanced performance and increased personalization options for our overwhelmingly popular Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles, complementing our luxurious all-purpose, all-terrain SUV, the LR4/Discovery 4, and the Range Rover Evoque. On Jaguar, the stunning F-TYPE Coupe joins our flagship XJ and XF luxury saloon vehicles.

What plans has JLR specifically for the Saudi market?
Saudi Arabia remains one of our top two markets alongside the UAE and it will continue to play an important role in our growth over the coming years with the introduction of our new product line-up. We are thankful to have such a successful partnership with our official dealer partner in the Kingdom, Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors (MYNM), who continuously help the brand develop and flourish in the Kingdom — their focus for KSA in 2015 and beyond will include investing in experiential activities that provide Saudi customers with an opportunity to personally engage with our brands both on and off-road.
MYNM also has plans to expand its network to include three new fully-equipped service facilities over the next two years across Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah which will continue to support the growth of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands in the Kingdom.

How far has the feasibility study to establish some operations in the Saudi market progressed? Is there a time framework for the study? And what are the JLR proposals.

— Jaguar Land Rover and the NICDP (KSA government) are continuing their studies regarding a potential automotive cluster in Saudi Arabia. As a company, we have ambitious plans for growth globally and regularly review opportunities to secure further manufacturing capacity in a range of markets. This is in addition to the company’s recent UK expansion and the international facilities already announced in Brazil, China and India. We will announce any further updates in due course.

What advantages would local operations in the Saudi market give JLR? Can Saudi authorities offer more incentives to JLR to make such operations feasible?
Our study in KSA is confidential. We continue to research the opportunities in this region. However we cannot discuss any further details at this time.

What models have JLR displayed in NAIAS 2015?
The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) has always been an important show for us, and this year we chose it as the platform to confirm production of our new Jaguar F-PACE. The Jaguar F-PACE is the production version of the breakthrough C-X17 concept car, and will be a performance-focussed, highly efficient, practical sports car underpinned by Jaguar’s innovative aluminum-intensive architecture and advanced suspension system. Further details of the all-new F-PACE will be revealed later this year, with sales starting in 2016.

How was the performance of the company during 2014 and will JLR be able to keep the momentum in 2015?
Our 2014 sales performance in MENA has been driven by strong sales of the Jaguar F-TYPE and continued strong demand for both Land Rover and Range Rover products, including the Land Rover LR4/Discovery 4 which saw a sales increase of 10 percent from April to November 2014. Sales of the Range Rover Sport for the same period (April to November 2014) were also up 10 percent, with the flagship Range Rover posting an increase of 28% across the MENA region.
Overall sales for the calendar year to date (January to November 2014) were up 11 percent for Land Rover, with Jaguar also maintaining a steady performance in key markets.
These results firmly place us in the top five markets for Jaguar Land Rover globally, and with our current product lineup on both Jaguar and Land Rover and the continued investment we are making in this region, we are confident this performance will continue in 2015.