Latest SMMT new car registration figures show that Jaguar is up 32.4% year to date while Land Rover is posting 33.6% growth in registrations.

However, Jaguar Land Rover's directors spend a lot of time making sure that they are making the right investments ‘and that our costs are not going up so we have a sustainable business model,’ said executive director Mike Wright.

‘We've done it with Land Rover going to 300,000 sales – that's a big number and you sometimes have to pinch yourself,’ he said.

‘There will never be a point when we say we've done it. Every business is a growth business but it must be controlled growth.’

Much of Land Rover's growth has come from the huge success of Evoque, with 140,000 sales since its launch in September 2011, and most Evoque buyers have come from rival brands, as did most buyers of the Jaguar XF. With the new F-Type ‘we can position ourselves in a unique place in the market’, said Wright.

‘I've always felt we could fulfil our potential and just knew we could do better,’ said Wright, adding that JLR's caveat was 'investment with substance'.

With growth comes another challenge – managing people's expectations. ‘Internally people are confident we can do it, but externally our products have to be credible. Everyone from our suppliers to our dealers and the Government now believes in us,’ he said.

Both Jaguar and Land Rover will grow by entering additional sub-segments. ‘Evoque went into a white space in the market and we need to look where those spaces exist.’