Jaguar Land Rover Sales Drop 4%

Demand for Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles slid to 26,500 units last month from 27,600 units in September 2011 the first year-on-year decline for the brands since July 2011.

JLR had posted a 31% volume gain to 134,400 vehicles in April-August, the first five months of the fiscal year.

Sales plunged 49% to 2,800 cars at Jaguar in September and climbed 7% to 23,700 SUVs at Land Rover.

Without big gains in JLR volume to buoy it, parent Tata Motors Ltd. posted a 4% companywide sales decline to 103,700 units last month. Results were dragged down by a 17% plunge to 22,400 units for Tata brand passenger vehicles. Demand for Tata's commercial vehicles rose 3% to 54,800 units.

Analysts note that JLR's weakness is bad news for Tata, which derives nearly three-quarters of its revenue and 90% of its profit from the British brands.