The Buzz | Jaguar Land Rover profit falls most in 2 years

Jaguar Land Rover became the latest casualty of a slowdown in Chinese auto demand, reporting its steepest drop in quarterly profit in two years after retail deliveries slumped in the world’s largest vehicle market. Profit dropped 33 percent to 302 million pounds (USD465 million) in the three months ended March, the biggest fall since the quarter ended March 2013. That contributed to a worse-than- estimated decline in earnings at its parent, India’s Tata Motors Ltd., which also faced a prolonged slump in demand for commercial vehicles in its home market. The result underscores the increasing reliance of global automakers on China to drive profit growth and the extent of the slowdown in luxury demand after the ruling Communist Party’s campaign to stamp out graft and extravagance.