JLR maps expansion strategy

JAGUAR Land Rover (JLR) and its Australian retailers are laying the groundwork for a continued upward sales trend into 2017 and beyond with a $120 million investment in the Australian dealership network.

The plan not only includes a new corporate look and more modern facilities for current dealerships but also nine more retail points across the country, taking the network to 43 by the end of next year.

Eight facilities are already under construction or refurbishment, with another 10 due to turn sods this year. These include eight in Queensland, seven for New South Wales, two in Victoria and one for South Australia.

Jaguar and Land Rover will return to Rockhampton, Gosford, Wagga Wagga, Shepparton, Bendigo and Bunbury for the first time in more than a decade – a resurgence the company is describing as unprecedented.

In the case of South Brisbane's new Springwood JLR dealership, a $10 million development heralds a new corporate identity for the company, dubbed Arch.

Under this development, the dealership will house both Jaguar and Land Rover under one roof but separate the brands under individual arches.

The strategy will be applied to all planned new or redeveloped dealerships as part of the $120 million cash injection.

JLR Australia managing director Matthew Wiesner said the significant investment from its franchisees was a vote of confidence in the brand's future.

“This level of retailer investment is an indicator of the strength of the Jaguar Land Rover brands in Australia and a reflection of retailer confidence in the current market,” he said. “It is critical in preparing for the further expansion of the Jaguar and Land Rover model ranges in the near future.”Both Jaguar and Land Rover are experiencing year-to-date growth, but the network expansion is in preparation for fresh models that will maintain the momentum, Mr Wiesner said.

“With Jaguar up 175 per cent YTD and Land Rover up over 43 per cent YTD, it has never been more important to ensure that there are strong levels of investment across all of our JLR retailer facilities so as to enhance the level of customer experience, especially with the introduction of the all-new Jaguar F-Pace performance SUV in July 2016.”For the cat brand, the introduction of its BMW 3 Series-fighting XE sedan last year added 620 sales in Australia to the end of April this year, making it Jaguar’s best seller.

Likewise, Land Rover's Discovery Sport – launched in Australia a year ago – has achieved 1539 registrations.