Is Jaguar Land Rover eyeing entry-level luxury segment in Indian car market?

New Delhi: Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is now planning to focus on the lower end of the luxury segment to push its sales in the Indian auto market. Having a decent 9 percent of the market share presently, JLR is looking to penetrate Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities along with increasing its after sales service network to increase its market presence. 

Speaking on the same, Rohit Suri, president Land Rover India said, “We have managed to acquire 9 per cent market share in the premium segment despite not having a product in the lower end segments like hatchbacks. We have been able to attract customers at the higher end given the strong brand we are.”

Backing on the strong demands of the Discovery Sport and Jaguar XE JLR registered a strong growth of 45 per cent in the January – March quarter this year. 

To consolidate its position in the market JLR has to bring in affordable luxury cars just like its German rivals -- Audi, Mercedes, and BMW. With no cars in this segment, it’s losing a major chunk of volumes to its rivals. 

“If it makes sense we will look at lower segments in the luxury car market. In fact, with the launch of Jaguar XE we have tried to enter the lower segments compared to where we were. We have started to tap the customers in the lower end,” he added. 

The fourth largest luxury carmaker in India is now looking forward to increase its dealership count from the present 23 to 26 alongside expansion in tier 2 and tier 3 cities like Nagpur and Raipur. It’s also planning to train the executives at JLR outlets for a better customer service experience. 

It recently launched a third variant of the XE – the Prestige, which sits between the top of the line XE Pure and the base XE Portfolio. The company is hoping that the Prestige version will attract more volumes as it’s loaded with features and priced well. 

JLR currently assembles the XE, XF, XJ, Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque in the country.

Source: CarDekho.com