Ralf Speth, the chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has said that 2013 was a “solid year” as the car maker reported a fourth quarter of record-breaking growth.

He said that this strong performance was “based on the demand around the world for our engaging products, including the Range Rover Sport and F-Type Coupé.

“Together, these activities have driven a solid financial performance for the company, which continues to deliver on its strategic growth plans. These plans will see us invest in 50 new product actions over the next five years, supported by our nurturing parent Tata Motors.”

In the year to the end of April, JLR again reported a pre-tax profit of £2.5 billion, up from £1.67 billion in 2012-13.

Revenues climbed from £15.78 billion to £19.38 billion. Mr Speth said that the company will “continue its investment in new products, architectures, power trains and technologies,” as well as increasing its manufacturing capacity at an expanded plant in Solihull, a new engine plant at the i54 business park near Wolverhampton and a new China joint-venture plant.

There have been reports that the production time-table for the Chinese plant may be brought forward to combat competition from Chinese companies ‘copying’ JLR designs.

Last month, Mr Speth said that the first vehicles would roll off the production lines by the end of this year, but Chinese sources say that the JLR-Chevy joint-venture is looking to bring the new Evoque to market as soon as possible, before a rival manufacturer introduces an alternative.