91Èȱ¬

Luxury vehicle manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has reported its highest pre-tax profits since 2015.

Production of Range Rover models at its Solihull factory, as well as sales of the Defender model helped the firm achieve pre-tax profits of £2.2bn.

"The foundation of this performance was the sustained global demand for our modern luxury vehicles, led by our Range Rover and Defender brands," said Adrian Mardell, chief executive officer.

There has also been "strong interest" in the electric Range Rover, with a prototype currently undergoing testing in the Arctic Circle, the company said.

The firm's sales success has a wider impact on the West Midlands and beyond, said Prof David Bailey, from Birmingham Business School.

"JLR is really quite unique in the UK, in sourcing so much of its content from the UK, and the West Midlands in particular," he said.

"The success of JLR means more orders for the supply chain, more money flowing through the supply chain, and hopefully greater security for jobs."

In March, JLR announced it was recruiting 250 new engineers to work at its facilities in the West Midlands to help develop pure electric vehicles.

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