1. 44 Business Today AUGUST 2014 www.businesstoday.co.om
INTERVIEW
Bruce Robertson,
managing director of
Jaguar Land Rover
MENA, talks to
Business Today about
the company’s plans
for the sultanate and
the region
Could you shed some light on
the GCC auto market for
Jaguar Land Rover?
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) currently
operates in all the six GCC mar-
kets. JLR MENA is headquartered
in Dubai and supports 40 dealer-
ships across 17 markets in the
MENA region. We have forecast-
ed that this will grow to 64 deal-
erships across 18 markets by
2017-18 with strategic actions
planned for 2014 to strengthen
our regional dealer network.
How much does the MENA
region contribute to the over-
all sales of both Jaguar and
Land Rover?
The MENA region is now the fifth
market for Jaguar Land Rover
globally and we have just wit-
BRUCE ROBERTSON
MD, Jaguar Land Rover MENA
MARKING THE
TERRITORY
Interview/E1/s:BusinessToday 7/22/14 4:32 PM Page 1

2. nessed an increase in our market
share for both brands across the
GCC markets and the Levant and
Morocco.
This region is one where peo-
ple appreciate quality and luxury
and we are lucky enough to be in
a position where our flagships
and top-of-the-range vehicles
make a significant contribution to
our sales volumes.
We have seen strong perform-
ance across our full line-up on
Jaguar and Land Rover, but we
also have some very exciting prod-
ucts coming on line which will
open up new segments for us,
and we are confident these will
drive further growth at all levels.
How has the automotive mar-
ket in Oman been for JLR?
We anticipate good potential for
JLR products in Oman, and we
see the business growing expo-
nentially with the introduction of
the new model line-up. The
investment from Jaguar Land
Rover in facilities such as the train-
ing and spare parts for the MENA
region will benefit our central
dealer network, including Mohsin
Haider Darwish, in terms of train-
ing for their staff, faster delivery of
vehicle spares, etc.
What kind of investments are
you looking at for the region?
We believe that investment is the
fuel for innovation and prosperity
for the brand in the MENA region
and will result in further develop-
ment in training, customer serv-
ice, engineering and product
development.
Investment is top of the agen-
da for JLR MENA and will support
the launch of dedicated facilities
to service the region. These facili-
ties include an enhanced
US$1.5mn state-of-the-art Engi-
neering Test Centre launched last
year to test both Jaguar and Land
Rover products in the region.
Another first for the region,
the JLR Training Academy,
launched in May this year, has
been developed to meet ambi-
tious growth targets and will
enable JLR to replicate the in-
depth training offered by its UK-
based academy and will ensure
the company maintains the high-
quality experience its customers
have come to expect.
We have also just launched a
new dedicated JLR parts distribu-
tion centre that will be opened in
the Jebel Ali Free Zone to service
the entire region. The facility will
www.businesstoday.co.om AUGUST 2014 Business Today 45
people appreciate quality and luxury in
this region, which is also a significant
MarKet for our flagship Vehicles
Interview/E1/s:BusinessToday 7/22/14 4:35 PM Page 2

3. 46 Business Today AUGUST 2014 www.businesstoday.co.om
service our growing regional cus-
tomer base by providing parts
through our 18-strong dealer net-
work, allowing them to purchase
spare parts and accessories from
one consolidated facility.
Another important part of our
investment goes into regional
consumer insights and trends
across both brands. This goes
beyond in-market testing and
training.
We engineer our cars for this
region based on the feedback we
get from our customers, and we
are confident we will have even
more innovative products tailored
for MENA that will dominate their
segments.
What kind of models do peo-
ple prefer in Oman - saloons or
SUVs?
While Jaguar has its core strength
in the sports car and saloon seg-
ment (the F- Type, XK, XF and XJ),
Land Rover is known the world
over for its SUV line-up, compris-
ing the Range Rover, the Range
Rover Sport, Range Rover Evoque,
Land Rover LR4 and LR2.
We have a good market share
in both the segments and with
some exciting new products com-
ing in from both the brands we
hope to grow this further.
Which have been your biggest
selling models in Oman?
The Jaguar XF is a popular model
in Oman and constitutes 70 per
cent of our retail here. The vehicle
fits perfectly with our Omani cus-
tomer requirements for various
reasons including its size, engine
and transmission technology, and
the available choice of interior
trims and paint.
In terms of Land Rover, the
INTERVIEW
Interview/E1/s:BusinessToday 7/22/14 4:33 PM Page 3

4. www.businesstoday.co.om AUGUST 2014 Business Today 47
new Range Rover is our biggest
selling model across MENA, and
Oman is no exception. In fact, we
are further privileged by the fact
that royalty has endorsed the
Range Rover as their vehicle of
choice in the entire region.
Although the sports-car seg-
ment is comparatively smaller in
Oman, the F-Type convertible has
been very successful for us here
and we anticipate a positive reac-
tion from customers when we
launch the F-Type Coupe this
August. The Jaguar F-Type
embodies everything the brand
stands for and we look forward to
breaking new ground in this prod-
uct segment.
What is your total market
share in GCC and do you see
that improving by the end of
2014?
We have experienced strong
growth over the last number of
years for both Jaguar and Land
Rover. This is without doubt driv-
en by the new models we have
introduced, from the F-Type to the
Range Rover Sport.
We are well on track to achiev-
ing our goal of seven per cent
market share for Jaguar across the
GCC and 22 per cent share for
Land Rover in this current fiscal
year.
Jaguar posted a record sales
jump of 21 per cent last year in
MENA. What drove this
growth and what are your
expectations for 2014? How
much growth are you expect-
ing this year for Jaguar in
MENA?
Our strong Jaguar performance
was led by the continued popular-
ity of the flagship Jaguar XJ. We
also witnessed the successful
introduction of the award-win-
ning Jaguar F-Type convertible
contributing to this record sales
year.
Jaguar MENA sales were up 21
per cent year-on-year with an all-
time sales record in March 2014,
up 40 per cent vs March 2013.
We expect Jaguar’s growth in
MENA to continue in 2014, with
order banks for the hotly antici-
pated F-Type Coupe already
exceeding expectations ahead of
its impending arrival in regional
showrooms
Land Rover sales for 2013
were up 39 per cent making
MENA the third fastest grow-
ing Land Rover market global-
ly. So what are the expecta-
tions in 2014?
Our results have placed MENA as
the third fastest growing market
and the fifth largest market for
the brand globally. We witnessed
growth across all nameplates for
Land Rover MENA including the
Range Rover Evoque, as well as
the Land Rover Discovery/LR4 and
Freelander/LR2, resulting in an
overall increase in market share
across the region, with sales
records achieved across the GCC
and North Africa, including Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE
and Morocco. I am confident this
performance will continue in
2014 for Land Rover with some
exciting product launches lined up
for the year.
What are the new launches
being planned?
This year has already been a busy
one in terms of new products.
Our recently introduced Jaguar F-
Type Coupe – our most dynami-
cally capable, performance-
focused, production Jaguar ever -
has been turning heads around
the region.
In 2015, we will see the launch
of our mid-size premium sports
sedan, the Jaguar XE, the first of
our models to be developed on
Jaguar’s all new advanced alu-
minium architecture, on which an
exciting range of future Jaguars
will also be built. The XE will open
up a whole new segment for
Jaguar and this is a fantastic
opportunity for us.
On Land Rover, we will see the
first member of the all-new Dis-
covery family go on sale in 2015 -
the Discovery Sport premium
compact SUV. And of course, we
will see the launch of our 15MY
line-up of Jaguar and Land Rover
vehicles hit showrooms later this
year. g
Interview/E1/s:BusinessToday 7/22/14 4:33 PM Page 4