China to pay $615m for Jaguar, Land Rover cars

Shanghai, February 26 (Gasgoo.com) Chinese firms will agree to pay a combined $615 million for 3,000 Jaguar and 6,000 Land Rover automobiles during a government-led trip to the U.K., the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the situation.

The trip, headed by Minister of Commerce Chen Deming and including some 200 business executives, headed for Europe this Tuesday and will visit Germany, Switzerland, Spain and the U.K., according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

In total the delegation will agree to buy as much as $15 billion of machinery, automobiles and food products as Beijing seeks to cultivate goodwill and fend off protectionism, the report said.

Jaguar finished 2008 with sales of more than 65,000 cars globally – an increase of 8 percent over 2007, while Land Rover had witnessed a 17 per cent fall in sales.