Jaguar Land Rover, the storied high-end vehicle maker owned by Tata Motors (TTM +0.00%), reported this week that it posted record sales in 2012, selling nearly 358,000 vehicles during the year, an increase of 30% over 2011's level.
Most of these deliveries were made by Land Rover. That brand saw a strong unit sales increase of 36% on a year-over-year basis to just under 304,000 vehicles. Jaguar sales were up 6%.
During the year, China was Jaguar Land Rover's most significant market. It sold nearly 71,940 vehicles there for a 71% year-over-year gain. Other top markets also saw double-digit annual sales gains: The U.K. increased 19% to 68,333, the U.S. grew 11% to 55,675, Russia jumped 43% to 20,549, and Germany increased 41% to 16,722.
In 2013, Jaguar Land Rover plans to create 800 new jobs in the U.K. to support the introduction of future model programs. It now employes 25,000 people globally.
