Brexit won’t stop Slovakian factory says Jaguar Land Rover

BRITAIN’S biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover has said the UK’s decision to leave the EU will not affect its plans to invest in a new plant in Slovakia.

There had been speculation that the UK’s exit from the EU could place the £1bn investment in doubt – at least until the situation surrounding Brexit became clearer.

Further question marks were also placed over the firm’s future investment plans for the UK.

However, in a news conference in London, the manufacturer’s strategy director, Adrian Hallmark, was quoted by Reuters as saying: “The short-term issue that Brexit presents doesn’t change our overall strategy.

“Our commitment is to our existing operations in the UK, future operations in Europe of which we have already announced the Slovakia plant which will be coming on stream in just a few years.”

JLR announced in December that it would become the first British carmaker to open a manufacturing facility in Slovakia after signing an agreement with the Government of the Slovak Republic to build a new plant in the city of Nitra, western Slovakia.

The new manufacturing facility will eventually employ around 2,800 people.

CEO Dr Ralf Speth, was quoted at the time as saying: “Jaguar Land Rover is delighted to welcome Slovakia into our family. The new factory will complement our existing facilities in the UK, China, India and Brazil and marks the next step in the company’s strategy to become a truly global business.

“Slovakia has an established premium automotive sector, which represents 43% of the country’s overall industry. It has more than 300 suppliers in close proximity and an excellent logistics infrastructure; this confirmed our decision that this country was the ideal location.

“The heart of our company will always be in the UK, where our design, technology and manufacturing capabilities are based. It is our creativity and innovation which makes Jaguar Land Rover the leading boutique automotive brand, offering exceptional products for our customers.”

As part of JLR’s commitment to deliver more lightweight vehicles, the plant will manufacture a range of all-new aluminium vehicles. It is anticipated that the first cars will come off the production line in late 2018. The factory will have an initial capacity of 150,000 vehicles and construction could start this year.