Jaguar Land Rover released its full year UK sales figures today - asthousands of staff at plants in Castle Bromwich, Solihull and Liverpool temporarily stood down .

The week-long production shutdown will also impact the company's engine plant in Wolverhampton.

It follows the major announcement back in January that JLR is to cut 4,500 of its workforce to make £2.5 billion in cost savings.

sold 118,108 cars in the UK between April 2018 and March 2019 – representing an 8.4% increase over 2017/18.

The figures are seen as particularly encouraging in a market where car sales overall declined by 3,67% during the same period.

They also provide a welcome shot in the arm for a company that is dealing with a number of challenges at the moment, including plummeting sales in China, declining demand for diesel vehicles and continuing uncertainty over Brexit, reports CoventryLive.

The Midlands car giant revealed in January it would halt production for an additional week from April 8 due to potential disruption from Brexit.

JLR employs just under 39,000 workers at sites including Castle Bromwich, Solihull and Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, and Halewood on Merseyside.

The news follows an announcement earlier this month that JLR is to cut 4,500 jobs under plans to make £2.5 billion of cost savings .

Jaguar sales in the UK increased by 20.2% year-on-year, with a total of 38,604 vehicles sold.

Other Jaguar sales successes included the F-Pace SUV and the I-Pace, which was recently declared the European Car of the Year.

In the six months since it went on sale 1,760 I-Paces were sold in the UK.

Land Rover sales were up by 3.5% year-on-year, rising from 76,851 to 79,504 units.

It is a trend that is likely to continue with a number of new products coming to market.

As well as the Discovery Sport refresh Land Rover recently launched the all-new Evoque.

In the first month since it went on sale 2,158 Evoques were sold.

2019 is also a big year for Land Rover with the unveiling of the all-new Defender model.

Another Land Rover hit was the Velar, with 13,226 sold during what was its first full year of sales, making it Land Rover’s third best selling model.

Range Rover sales increased from 5,636 to 7,105 units, while Range Rover Sport sales rose from 11,336 to 13,150 units, respectively.

Land Rover said P400e plug-in hybrid variants helped boost sales of both models.

The P400e plug-in hybrid is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s emissions strategy.

From 2020 all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will have electrified versions.

The company is also delivering cleaner diesel and petrol engines.

Rawdon Glover, Jaguar Land Rover UK MD, said: “Despite the headwinds facing the automotive industry, I’m glad to see Jaguar Land Rover’s UK strategy is having the desired effect.

“Investment into the right products at the right time has seen us steadily grow our market share and our sales in what has been a declining market.

“We’re excited for what’s to come, too, with the return of our iconic Land Rover Defender, sales of the updated Jaguar XE and a number of other major product actions, especially the all-new Range Rover Evoque.

“Our retailers and customers have already been hugely enthusiastic about this new Range Rover.”