JLR interview

44 Business Today AUGUST 2014 www.businesstoday.co.om

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Bruce Robertson,managing director ofJaguar Land RoverMENA, talks toBusiness Today aboutthe company’s plansfor the sultanate andthe region

Could you shed some light on

the GCC auto market for

Jaguar Land Rover?

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) currently

operates in all the six GCC mar-

kets. JLR MENA is headquartered

in Dubai and supports 40 dealer-

ships across 17 markets in the

MENA region. We have forecast-

ed that this will grow to 64 deal-

erships across 18 markets by

2017-18 with strategic actions

planned for 2014 to strengthen

our regional dealer network.

How much does the MENA

region contribute to the over-

all sales of both Jaguar and

Land Rover?

The MENA region is now the fifth

market for Jaguar Land Rover

globally and we have just wit-

BRUCE ROBERTSONMD, Jaguar Land Rover MENA

MARKING THETERRITORY

Interview/E1/s:BusinessToday 7/22/14 4:32 PM Page 1

nessed an increase in our market

share for both brands across the

GCC markets and the Levant and

Morocco.

This region is one where peo-

ple appreciate quality and luxury

and we are lucky enough to be in

a position where our flagships

and top-of-the-range vehicles

make a significant contribution to

our sales volumes.

We have seen strong perform-

ance across our full line-up on

Jaguar and Land Rover, but we

also have some very exciting prod-

ucts coming on line which will

open up new segments for us,

and we are confident these will

drive further growth at all levels.

How has the automotive mar-

ket in Oman been for JLR?

We anticipate good potential for

JLR products in Oman, and we

see the business growing expo-

nentially with the introduction of

the new model line-up. The

investment from Jaguar Land

Rover in facilities such as the train-

ing and spare parts for the MENA

region will benefit our central

dealer network, including Mohsin

Haider Darwish, in terms of train-

ing for their staff, faster delivery of

vehicle spares, etc.

What kind of investments are

you looking at for the region?

We believe that investment is the

fuel for innovation and prosperity

for the brand in the MENA region

and will result in further develop-

ment in training, customer serv-

ice, engineering and product

development.

Investment is top of the agen-

da for JLR MENA and will support

the launch of dedicated facilities

to service the region. These facili-

ties include an enhanced

US$1.5mn state-of-the-art Engi-

neering Test Centre launched last

year to test both Jaguar and Land

Rover products in the region.

Another first for the region,

the JLR Training Academy,

launched in May this year, has

been developed to meet ambi-

tious growth targets and will

enable JLR to replicate the in-

depth training offered by its UK-

based academy and will ensure

the company maintains the high-

quality experience its customers

have come to expect.

We have also just launched a

new dedicated JLR parts distribu-

tion centre that will be opened in

the Jebel Ali Free Zone to service

the entire region. The facility will

www.businesstoday.co.om AUGUST 2014 Business Today 45

people appreciate quality and luxury in

this region, which is also a significant

MarKet for our flagship Vehicles


46 Business Today AUGUST 2014 www.businesstoday.co.om

service our growing regional cus-

tomer base by providing parts

through our 18-strong dealer net-

work, allowing them to purchase

spare parts and accessories from

one consolidated facility.

Another important part of our

investment goes into regional

consumer insights and trends

across both brands. This goes

beyond in-market testing and

training.

We engineer our cars for this

region based on the feedback we

get from our customers, and we

are confident we will have even

more innovative products tailored

for MENA that will dominate their

segments.

What kind of models do peo-

ple prefer in Oman - saloons or

SUVs?

While Jaguar has its core strength

in the sports car and saloon seg-

ment (the F- Type, XK, XF and XJ),

Land Rover is known the world

over for its SUV line-up, compris-

ing the Range Rover, the Range

Rover Sport, Range Rover Evoque,

Land Rover LR4 and LR2.

We have a good market share

in both the segments and with

some exciting new products com-

ing in from both the brands we

hope to grow this further.

Which have been your biggest

selling models in Oman?

The Jaguar XF is a popular model

in Oman and constitutes 70 per

cent of our retail here. The vehicle

fits perfectly with our Omani cus-

tomer requirements for various

reasons including its size, engine

and transmission technology, and

the available choice of interior

trims and paint.

In terms of Land Rover, the

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www.businesstoday.co.om AUGUST 2014 Business Today 47

new Range Rover is our biggest

selling model across MENA, and

Oman is no exception. In fact, we

are further privileged by the fact

that royalty has endorsed the

Range Rover as their vehicle of

choice in the entire region.

Although the sports-car seg-

ment is comparatively smaller in

Oman, the F-Type convertible has

been very successful for us here

and we anticipate a positive reac-

tion from customers when we

launch the F-Type Coupe this

August. The Jaguar F-Type

embodies everything the brand

stands for and we look forward to

breaking new ground in this prod-

uct segment.

What is your total market

share in GCC and do you see

that improving by the end of

2014?

We have experienced strong

growth over the last number of

years for both Jaguar and Land

Rover. This is without doubt driv-

en by the new models we have

introduced, from the F-Type to the

Range Rover Sport.

We are well on track to achiev-

ing our goal of seven per cent

market share for Jaguar across the

GCC and 22 per cent share for

Land Rover in this current fiscal

year.

Jaguar posted a record sales

jump of 21 per cent last year in

MENA. What drove this

growth and what are your

expectations for 2014? How

much growth are you expect-

ing this year for Jaguar in

MENA?

Our strong Jaguar performance

was led by the continued popular-

ity of the flagship Jaguar XJ. We

also witnessed the successful

introduction of the award-win-

ning Jaguar F-Type convertible

contributing to this record sales

year.

Jaguar MENA sales were up 21

per cent year-on-year with an all-

time sales record in March 2014,

up 40 per cent vs March 2013.

We expect Jaguar’s growth in

MENA to continue in 2014, with

order banks for the hotly antici-

pated F-Type Coupe already

exceeding expectations ahead of

its impending arrival in regional

showrooms

Land Rover sales for 2013

were up 39 per cent making

MENA the third fastest grow-

ing Land Rover market global-

ly. So what are the expecta-

tions in 2014?

Our results have placed MENA as

the third fastest growing market

and the fifth largest market for

the brand globally. We witnessed

growth across all nameplates for

Land Rover MENA including the

Range Rover Evoque, as well as

the Land Rover Discovery/LR4 and

Freelander/LR2, resulting in an

overall increase in market share

across the region, with sales

records achieved across the GCC

and North Africa, including Saudi

Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE

and Morocco. I am confident this

performance will continue in

2014 for Land Rover with some

exciting product launches lined up

for the year.

What are the new launches

being planned?

This year has already been a busy

one in terms of new products.

Our recently introduced Jaguar F-

Type Coupe – our most dynami-

cally capable, performance-

focused, production Jaguar ever -

has been turning heads around

the region.

In 2015, we will see the launch

of our mid-size premium sports

sedan, the Jaguar XE, the first of

our models to be developed on

Jaguar’s all new advanced alu-

minium architecture, on which an

exciting range of future Jaguars

will also be built. The XE will open

up a whole new segment for

Jaguar and this is a fantastic

opportunity for us.

On Land Rover, we will see the

first member of the all-new Dis-

covery family go on sale in 2015 -

the Discovery Sport premium

compact SUV. And of course, we

will see the launch of our 15MY

line-up of Jaguar and Land Rover

vehicles hit showrooms later this

year. g


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JLR interview