'Voice of customers' fuels Jaguar Land Rover China

Corporate citizen

Despite its market success in China so far, the automaker has stood firm on its commitment to giving back to society. In the past year, it has made great investments in corporate social responsibility programs.

"Jaguar Land Rover strives to be a trustworthy, long-term partner and a global brand committed to building a strong presence within local communities," said Grace.

In August 2013, Jaguar Land Rover China announced a 4 million yuan joint donation to the quake-affected areas in Ya'an, to rebuild schools in the region and help local students return to studies and regain a normal life. The project aims to create a 2,200-square-meter teaching facility in Xinyang Junior Middle School, which will be named "Jaguar Land Rover Hope School".

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The company will also establish 20 Happy Sports Classrooms for 20 primary schools, giving more than 6,000 students access to physical education, aiming to help teenagers in the worst affected regions resume normal life and overcome their physical and psychological trauma.

Grace has made a personal commitment to the program, promising to teach English lessons to students once the Jaguar Land Rover Hope School begins operations.

"In English, we have a saying: 'Actions speak louder than words'. You guys will see me there, teaching English, as my own testament to our CSR initiatives."

Brighter future

Born in Coventry, England, - home of Jaguar Land Rover's headquarters, and now at the helm of the automaker's business in China - its largest market, Grace said:

"China is rapidly going through a phase of development that most other counties probably took 20, 30, 40 years to go through."

He is confident of a brighter future for Jaguar Land Rover as China's elites are empowering the British brands to take off in China.

Grace expects the company's sales to grow 15 to 20 percent in 2014, a reasonable target, given a market consensus on an overall increase of 10 percent in China.

Summing up his goals on the working agenda for the year, Grace said: "Sustainable development is where our focus needs to be - not just to be the biggest or to be the best."

"Actions are here in China," he concluded. "I want to keep moving on the exciting journey with my family, employees and all stakeholders."