August sales up 75% at Jaguar Land Rover

Car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover says sales of Jaguar vehicles are up almost 75% compared with August last year.

UK sales from January till August were also 45% higher compared to the same period in 2009, managers said.

The firm, based in Gaydon, near Warwick, has a plant in Castle Bromwich near Birmingham and a factory in Solihull.

"We are certainly seeing strong evidence of consumer confidence bouncing back," a spokesman said.

'Strength to strength'

The firm was bought by India's Tata Motors from US group Ford in 2008 for 1.4bn ($2.3bn).

Tata said it was looking at ways to reduce costs after sales fell by more than a quarter last year.

Geoff Cousins, managing director, Jaguar UK said: "While August is traditionally a quieter month for car sales in the UK, we have had our busiest August for two years.

"We are certainly seeing strong evidence of consumer confidence bouncing back."

Up to 9,952 Jaguar cars have been sold in the UK, a 45% improvement on last year.

Some 6,883 cars were sold from January till August 2009, the spokesman added.