Jaguar Land Rover to Recall 12,000 Vehicles in China

Jaguar-Land Rover (JLR) will recall thousands of vehicles in China to deal with possible engine and oil leakage problems.

JLR will recall 8,656 Range Rover Auroras and Land Rover Freelander 2 models built between January 2012 and June 2013 to investigate possible oil leakage problems, China's quality watchdog said.

The company will also recall 3,196 Jaguar XF models built between July 2012 and May 2013, and XJs manufactured between March 2012 and May 2013 over potential engine problems, according to the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).

JLR said that Jaguar sales surged 65% in July to 6,157 vehicles while Land Rover sales rose 14% to 25,454 vehicles. The company sold 31,611 vehicles in July, a 21% increase from a year ago. It sold 241,801 vehicles in the first seven months of 2013, a 15% increase over the same period in the previous year.

"The company's technical field reporting team was made aware of a limited number of incidents involving fuel leaks from the affected engine," Jaguar-Land Rover said.

"Following a thorough and detailed engineering investigation, Jaguar Land-Rover has taken the decision to voluntarily recall all potentially affected vehicles."

BMW's Chinese joint venture said it would recall more than 140,000 cars recently to deal with defective power steering systems. The BMWs were built between August 2009 and August 2012.

China is the world's biggest car market and is poised to overtake the US in luxury car sales by 2020.

India's top automobile manufacturer Tata Motors bought Jaguar-Land Rover from Ford for $2.3bn in early 2008. The acquisition gave Tata a foothold in new markets overnight.

Tata Motors' stock price ended 3.61% higher to 291.15 rupees (£3 , €3.6) in Mumbai on Tuesday, valuing the company at 937.11bn rupees ($15.34bn). The company's stock price has dropped 6.8% this year.