JLR gears up for official Chinese launch amid US rumour
A MAJOR milestone in Jaguar Land Rover’s global ambitions is set to be realised when the first vehicle manufactured under its joint venture with Chery officially rolls off the production line in China.
The event is two years on from Chinese authorities granting permission for the new factory, which is based at Changshu, in the Jiangshu Province.
The factory will be capable of producing around 130,000 vehicles a year and the volumes will help JLR achieve its aim of ramping up global production levels to around 600,000 vehicles a year.
The Changshu factory has actually been producing locally-made Range Rover Evoques for some time but JLR has held back on celebrations in order to officially mark the occasion.
JLR chief executive Dr Ralf Speth had said earlier this year that it was likely the first vehicles produced at the factory would be rolling off production lines by Q4, ready for sale to Chinese buyers early next year and the deadline has been achieved.
The company will be keen to get the new vehicle into showrooms as quickly as possible in order to meet demand for the popular 4×4.
It will also be hoping Chinese buyers are just as keen on a locally-produced version of the offroader as they are on the ones imported from the UK.
One of the main reasons JLR has been so keen to have a locally-manufactured model is to avoid the heavy import duties imposed on its UK-produced vehicles.
The official start of production will also help JLR combat rival manufacturers in China which are mimicking the Evoque’s design.
The start of Chinese production comes at a busy time for the Indian-owned company. It has launched into production the new Discovery Sport at its Halewood factory near Liverpool while production of the new Jaguar XE sports saloon is gearing up at Solihull.
Later this month the company will also see the start of full scale production at its new £0.5bn engine plant at the i54 site near Wolverhampton.
The move also coincides with reports that the Tata subsidiary may be considering venturing into a production operation in the United States.
Reports in a Sunday newspaper suggested JLR was already in talks with authorities in several states, including South Carolina, regarding the possibility of setting up a new operation.
JLR has dismissed the reports as speculation but there is no doubt that it is keen to create more capacity around the globe as it looks to ramp up production to the one million-vehicle-a-year mark.
It is already assembling knock-down kits of UK-made vehicles in India and is developing a new plant in Brazil. It also has a longstanding letter of intent with authorities in Saudi Arabia regarding establishing a manufacturing facility there.
