JAGUAR Land Rover (JLR) is facing stiff headwinds in the U.K. and in China, the world’s largest car market, but the storied British automaker sees the United States as a relative oasis.

Plummeting China sales, Brexit tremors and tightening European emissions rules forced JLR parent Tata Motors Ltd. to take a record US$3.9 billion writedown last year. But while global deliveries fell 4.6 percent, the premium automaker’s 2018 sales in the United States rose 7.3 percent to a record of almost 123,000 vehicles.

JLR’s top executive in the United States is aiming for a repeat performance this year.

“If we can keep our volumes around where we were last year, I’d be more than happy,” said Joe Eberhardt, head of the company’s North America business. “We focus on the things we can control.”

The United States is JLR’s single biggest market, and it’s betting on continued demand for SUVs like the compact E-Pace and redesigned Range Rover Evoque, even as industrywide vehicle sales are expected to dip. The automaker also is counting on a new version of the Land Rover Defender, the boxy classic that ferried British soldiers during the Korean War, to gin up sales when it arrives on U.S. shores in 2020.

“There’s always room for further growth and the growth will have to come from new product,” Eberhardt said. (SD-Agencies)