The company has been harder hit by chip shortages than competitors, partly because of the complexity of its models, Bollore told investors during an earnings call on Thursday.
"We are losing some market share for sure," he said. "But the impact on the ground is higher desirability because the scarcity is creating that desirability," Bollore said.
JLR's order book increased to 168,000 at the end of March, up from 155,000 at the end of December, the company said in its quarterly earnings report.
Upmarket push
JLR has said it wants to focus less on volume and more on pushing up pricing as it stops mirroring the strategies of German premium rivals.
The Land Rover brand has added more refinement, high-tech equipment and paid greater attention to design detail to its latest generation Range Rover and Range Rover Sport to offer what it calls “modern luxury.”
The chip shortage is helping that. “The brand is being boosted toward modern luxury to a higher level than we expected and faster,” Bollore said.
The starting price of the new Range Rover Sport that goes into production in June has increased by 22 percent compared with its predecessor to 79,125 pounds ($97,553), up from 64,760 pounds, in its UK home market.
The price is significantly above rivals such as the BMW X6, which begins from 65,740 pounds in the UK, and the Audi Q8, which costs from 68,955 pounds.
At 99,375 pounds, the new-generation Range Rover starts at a price that is 13 percent above the previous generation. Prices rise to 157,820 pounds for the V-8 SV model.
JLR said that 46,000 of its 168,000 orders are for the Range Rover model.