Jaguar Land Rover posts $700m loss

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced a £395 million ($A708m) loss in the past three months.

Blaming declining sales and the impact of planned plant shutdowns related to Brexit, the British car-maker claimed that it is already back on track to deliver "sustainable profitable growth."

JLR confirmed to investors a sales decline of 11.6 per cent in the first quarter of its 2019/2020 financial year (April to June), when it sold 128,615 vehicles.

The pre-tax Q1 loss of £395 million compares to £264 million ($A473m) lost in the same period last year.

Also hitting profits was a factory shutdown in April as a contingency to coincide with the original planned date of Britain’s exit from the European Union.

Despite the gloom, back in the UK sales actually rose 2.6 per cent year-on-year while the number of cars delivered in China also increased in June compared to previous months – hinting at a recovery in a market where the car-maker has struggled.

JLR also told the markets that sales of the Jaguar I-PACE and the recently launched second-gen Range Rover Evoque were also up and that the arrival of the facelifted Jag XE and significantly overhauled Land Rover Discovery Sport would boost future sales.

Senior execs highlighted that JLR's major £2.5 billion ($A4.5b) cost-cutting restructuring has already delivered the car-maker £100 million ($A180m) in savings.

Commenting on JLR's performance, CEO Ralf Speth reminded investors that the car-maker was still undergoing a "period of major transformation".

"We will build on our strong foundations and increased operating efficiency to return to profit this fiscal year," Speth said in a statement.

Claiming he had already created a "more robust and resilient business", JLR's chief exec said that new vehicles like the Land Rover Defender would "pave the way for sustainable profitable growth."