Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sales are up by 23 percent from July to September in 2009 compared to the same period in 2008. The rise in sales has been linked to the launch of several new models in the past year and it has helped reduce JLR's losses from £240 million in the same quarter in 2008 to £60 million for this period in 2009.

A spokesman for Tata said: "Our business is witnessing some stability in the external environment with certain key markets showing signs of recovery." The UK was JLR's biggest sales boost in this three-month period, growing by 34 percent, while sales in the USA dropped by 7.3 percent. However, this was compensated for by continued growth in China, where sales went up by 2.1 percent.

Bought by India's Tata in June 2008, JLR's improved financial position is attributed to sales of new and revised models and a strict programme of cost reduction within the company. The company has reduced the number of outside contractors used, frozen wages for its factory workers and reduced pay for new employees. There are also plans to close one factory in the West Midlands by 2015 and move some production overseas.