High growth, future potential make SL ‘important strategic market’ for Jaguar Land Rover

High sales growth so far and future upside have made Sri Lanka an “important strategic market” for world-renowned automobile brands Jaguar Land Rover, its Asia Pacific chief told journalists in Colombo yesterday.

The combined sales of the two marquee brands in financial year 2017/18 had grown by 57% as against 40% in the previous year. The growth of Land Rover sales was 110%. “Sri Lanka is an important strategic market with a strong growth trajectory,” revealed Jaguar Land Rover Asia Pacific Managing Director Robin Colgan at a media conference to announce the construction of a $ 5 million globally-compliant retail centre integrating sales, service and spare parts in one location in Boralesgamuwa by sole agents SML Frontier Automotive. 

He said the Government’s support to electrification had given further impetus to growth in the Sri Lankan market. 

“We are strongly positioned in the electric segment,” Colgan said, adding that Jaguar Land Rover had committed to a vision that by 2020 it would offer electric options on all its new models. 

The Government has pledged to replace all state-owned vehicles with electric or hybrid models by 2025, a move that will be extended to private vehicles by 2040, in alignment with what most countries across the world are doing to adopt cleaner energy use.

With the rollout of electric options later this year, Jaguar Land Rover sole agents SML Frontier Automotive expressed confidence of higher sales growth in the current 2018/19 financial year. 

A new Plug-In Hybrid Electric Range Rover and Range Rover Sport will be launched by SML Frontier Automotive this November and the first first-ever electric vehicle from Jaguar will make its much-anticipated debut in Sri Lanka before the second quarter of 2019. 

SML Frontier Automotive CEO Ravi Perera said: “This (FY19) is a critical year for SML Frontier as we look forward to welcoming the new breed of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles to Sri Lanka. The new generation of vehicles is set to change the luxury automotive market, and will propel the growth of the brands in Sri Lanka with over 100 confirmed orders to date for these vehicles. We aim to deliver an unprecedented level of customer experience, combined with unparalleled service to all our customers.”

“We are looking at the long term not just five years but 50 years and we are investing to make Jaguar Land Rover the number one automobile brand in Sri Lanka,” said SML Frontier Automotive Chairman Sumal Perera. The world-class integrated sales, service and spare parts facility will be ready by the middle of next year.