Jaguar Land Rover Halts Local Production in China for the First Time in 14 Years… Shifts to Import-Centric Model for Structural Improvement

*This content was translated by AI.

British automotive brand Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has completely halted local production in China after 14 years of operations and is restructuring its portfolio to focus on high-end imported models. According to local industry sources, the last locally produced JLR model, the Range Rover Evoque L, was manufactured at the Changshu plant in March. Its remaining inventory was fully sold off through massive discounts recently, marking the complete disappearance of China-made JLR models from the market.

JLR's Chinese joint venture, Chery Jaguar Land Rover, has been gradually ceasing production of the Discovery Sport, Jaguar XEL·XFL, and E-Pace since 2025. Initially launched in China in 2011 with a premium price tag of 900,000 yuan (approximately 170 million won), the Evoque experienced a sharp decline in value following localization. During recent inventory clearance phases, it was even sold for less than 180,000 yuan (around 34 million won).

This production halt decision results from JLR's failure to adapt to China's rapid shift toward electrification and the collapse of its entrenched distribution structure. As competition intensified with domestic Chinese premium electric vehicle brands such as AITO and NIO, JLR's sales plummeted by over 80%, dropping from 146,400 units in 2017 to just 26,000 units in 2025. Additionally, the long-standing practice of forcing dealers to take on ten loss-making locally produced models for every one profitable imported model became unsustainable amid steep price declines, leading to the collapse of the local dealer network.

Moving forward, JLR plans to completely withdraw from the Chinese market segment priced below 500,000 yuan (approximately 95 million won) and focus exclusively on three high-end imported lines: Range Rover, Defender, and Discovery. Consequently, its dealer network, already significantly reduced from its peak, is expected to shrink further to around 40–50 locations.

Meanwhile, instead of continuing internal combustion engine model production in China, JLR has established a new electric vehicle brand called "Freelander" through a 50:50 joint venture with Chery Automobile. Equipped with Huawei's intelligent driving systems and CATL batteries, the first model is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2026. However, experts remain skeptical about whether JLR's reputation from the internal combustion engine era will hold up in China's fiercely competitive electric vehicle market.

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*This content was translated by AI.