Premier Automotive Group, which includes Land Rover, Jaguar and Aston Martin, was one of the few bright spots when US car maker Ford reported a first-quarter loss of $1.2bn (£670m) yesterday.

PAG made $163m profit, against a $55m loss in the same period last year. Ford said the improvement at PAG reflected cost efficiencies at the two UK marques and Volvo.

Land Rover's global sales reached a first-quarter record, helped by a strong performance from the Range Rover Sport. Ford said that overall its operations had made a $458m profit, but it had been pushed into the red by high restructuring costs.