Jaguar Land Rover was already facing financial hardship - and that was before the coronavirus pandemic ground the auto industry to a halt. With production plants forced to close around the world, new car sales plummeted. But judging from these latest sales figures, Jaguar Land Rover is on the road to recovery. In Q3 2020, Jaguar Land Rover's sales spiked by 53.3 percent as dealers and factories reopened after being forced to shut down.

From July 1 to September 30, the manufacturer sold 113,569 vehicles worldwide, up from 74,067 units in the previous three months. Out of these, 27,347 were Jaguar models and 86,22 were Land Rovers. In the UK, sales increased by a whopping 231.6 percent compared to the previous quarter, while North America sales spiked by 21.3 percent.

Sales in China were also strong, up by 14.6 percent over the previous quarter and 3.7 percent year-on-year. China's September sales also increased by 28.5 percent year-on-year. While this is a significant sales spike, overall sales were still down by 11.9 percent compared to the same period last year. Likewise, year-on-year UK sales were down by 2.9 percent and North America sales were down by 15.8 percent.

Helping Jaguar Land Rover achieve this sales surge was the recent launch of the new Land Rover Defender, with sales increasing to 4,508 units in September. Updated versions of the Range Rover Velar, Jaguar F-Pace, Jaguar XF, and Jaguar XE are also due to go on sale soon, which should help further increase sales.

"Covid-19 and second lockdowns continue to impact the global auto industry but we are pleased to see sales recovering across our markets. In China, the first region to come out of lockdown, our performance has been particularly encouraging. But we are also seeing strong improvement versus the preceding quarter in other key markets, with sales up more than 50% worldwide," said Felix Brautigam, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer.

"The recovery has been demand-led and we are delighted that we have been able to reduce stocks to achieve ideal levels in most markets, despite the ongoing pandemic, to support a healthier and more profitable business for Jaguar Land Rover and its retailers."