Jaguar Land Rover crashes to £3.6bn annual loss

Jaguar Land Rover crashed to a £3.6 billion (€4.1 billion) annual loss as it was weighed down by a slump in Chinese sales.

The luxury car manufacturer, which announced 4,500 job cuts earlier this year, was heavily dragged down by a £3.3 billion (€3.7 billion) writedown in the third quarter. It slumped from a £400 million (€455 million) profit in the previous financial year as it was hit by the economic slowdown in China.

Weakness in the Chinese car market resulted in a 5.8 per cent decline in sales to 578,915 vehicles in the region, offsetting growth in Europe and north America.

However, the firm was positive about recent sales after it delivered a £120 million (€136 million) pre-tax profit in the fourth quarter to March 31st following nine months of losses. Deepening losses come after it was reported earlier this month that PSA – the owner of Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall – was eyeing up a deal to acquire the luxury car manufacturer. – PA