SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Jaguar Land Rover Ltd aims to increase its sales by 20-30 percent this year in China, its biggest market, and sustain the same pace over the next three to five years, the company's China chief said on Saturday.
Most of the growth will likely come from southern and western regions where sales are exploding as growth in mega-city markets like Beijing and Shanghai slows, Bob Grace told Reuters on the sidelines of the Shanghai autoshow.
In order to keep up with demand, JLR plans to boost the number of dealerships for the two brands to about 200 by the end of 2014. The company has 116 outlets in operation.
JLR, on track to start making Jaguar Land Rover vehicles in China in partnership with Chery Automobile Co in late 2014, aims to achieve "profitable and sustainable growth" in the country, Grace earlier told reporters at the autoshow.
The company, controlled by India's Tata Motors Ltd , sold about 77,000 vehicles in China in 2012.
(Reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu; editing by Jonathan Standing and Ron Popeski)