With a joint venture plant in Changshu, Jiangsu province, set to start operation in the fourth quarter of the year, Chery Jaguar Land Rover is aiming to become the "No 1 player" in China's premium car market - in product quality and customer experience, said its top executive.

Chris Bryant, president of the joint venture, said that while JLR is a smaller brand, it "has been able to deploy itself successfully for some time and that will continue to be the case".

"To be the number one premium automotive manufacturer does not mean we have to be number one in terms of volume, or cost or deliveries," said Bryant. "It means we want to be considered the very preferred choice over the whole business context."