Jaguar Land Rover set to invest £100m into Birmingham car production

VEHICLE manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover is to invest £100m into its Castle Bromwich plant in a move that will see production of the XE saloon gradually shipped across from the firm’s neighbouring plant in Solihull.

The move is intended to free up capacity on the XE production line at Lode Lane for the new F-Pace crossover model, which has replaced the XE as Jaguar’s fastest selling model.

The move comes just 18 months after the firm began production of the XE at Solihull – which it announced with a fanfare including a parade of famous models around the Lode Lane plant.

The decision to switch production of the XE is an indication of the flexibility of the company’s manufacturing process and also underlines the renaissance of the Castle Bromwich facility, which was threatened with closure just eight years ago.

JLR said the investment – which rises to £500m over the last couple of years – followed the huge customer demand for Jaguar’s two latest models.

It said the move would be gradual and would see investment in new press lines, body shops and final assembly halls.

It also marks the return of all Jaguar sports and saloon car manufacturing to the Birmingham plant. The plant, which employs 3,000 people, currently produces the XF, XJ and F-Type.

Wolfgang Stadler, JLR’s Executive Director of Manufacturing, said: “The significant investment to create two centres of excellence in aluminium vehicle manufacturing, utilising shared technologies, was deliberate. It gives us the flexibility to quickly respond to consumer demand for our growing range of products.”

Nicolas Guibert, Castle Bromwich Operations Director, said the decision would see Castle Bromwich undergo a significant increase in production volumes.

The company has been slowly collecting parcels of land around the site in order to increase capacity.

It has also invested in a new finishing and collection operation, as well as a new staff car park to cater for the expansion of the workforce.

“This plant has a rich heritage and is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades, with major infrastructure projects either complete or under way. The commissioning of our all-new press line and launch of our body shop to support the introduction of XE means Castle Bromwich is future-proof,” said Mr Guibert.

In August, Jaguar sales stood at 85,726 for the year, an increase of 72% on 2015. This strong performance is driven primarily by the F-Pace and XE, which made its US market debut in the summer.

Lode Lane will continue to operate three shifts, 24 hours a day, to keep up with global demand for the F-Pace and Range Rover Sport, both of which are built on the same production line.

Castle Bromwich statistics:

The Site: 112-acres.

Workforce: 3,000

Products: The Jaguar F-Type sports car, the all-new XF, the soon-to-be upgraded XJ flagship and now the XE.

Investment:  £500m in support of the XF and XE.

Investment includes:
–        £320m state-of-the art aluminium body shop – the largest single investment in the history of the Castle Bromwich plant. The most flexible and versatile of its kind throughout Jaguar Land Rover, capable of switching between Jaguar’s entire range of models mid-production
–        £16m on a new blanker line
–        £50m on a new Aida press line.
–        £30m on significant upgrades in the trim and final assembly hall.
–        £25m on new Automated Storage Retrieval System