Jaguar Land Rover has reported a 34% rise in pre-tax profits to £1.5 billion in 2011.

Parent company Tata Motors said the significant increase in retail sales by 27% to 305,859 units was due to strong demand from China and emerging markets.

The UK is Jaguar Land Rover’s biggest market and the brand has been helped with successful new model launches like the Range Rover Evoque and Jaguar XF.

Pre-tax profits for Q1 ended March 31 were £530 million, up from £299m during Q1 last year.