Jaguar Land Rover (www.jaguarlandrover.com) has reported annual revenues of £24.3 billion, aided by the success of its new F-Pace sports utility vehicle — the fastest-selling car in Jaguar’s 95-year history (the Coventry-based marque previously built saloons and sports cars).

Demand for the F-Pace helped increase sales of Jaguars by 83% to 172,000 vehicles in the year. This helped drive JLR’s total sales — which include the Land Rover off-roaders — to 604,009 vehicles in the year to the end of March.

JLR invested £3.4 billion in new models, plants and technology, and the company said it would raise this to £4 billion in the coming year.

That said, the Land Rover brand, which makes up the majority of JLR’s sales, had a flat year, with total vehicle sales rising just 1% as it faced tough competition and the impact from discontinuing the Defender vehicle.

A new Defender model is scheduled for next year (the motoring press says that ‘early development mules’ have already been driven by company bosses and that JLR promises the new car will be “even more capable” than the old Defender when the going gets tough).

Ralf Speth, chief executive of what is the UK’s largest automotive business, said: “These solid results demonstrate the appeal of our products and our ability to deliver strong, profitable and sustainable growth.

“We are continuing to invest significantly in new models and innovation, as shown by the new Land Rover Discovery, the forthcoming Range Rover Velar and all-electric Jaguar I-Pace, reinforcing our commitment to new technologies.”