£27m grant gives new hope to JLR Halewood

THE government has offered Jaguar Land Rover a £27m grant, if it goes ahead with plans to build a new car model at Halewood.

Jaguar Land Rover has said it will make a final decision on whether the project is feasible, which it says will cost it around £400m, later this year.

The Range Rover branded car would be based on Land Rover’s LRX concept vehicle, and would be the smallest, lightest and most efficient Range Rover produced by the company.

“It will be a very premium product,” a spokesperson told TheBusinessDesk.

The grant offer is being made under the government’s Grant for Business Investment scheme and is separate from the broader automotive support package being unveiled by the government.

Phil Popham, managing director of Land Rover, said: “We welcome the government’s support for this project, which would form a key part of our future product plans and which we very much want to put into production.

“Our engineering feasibility study has shown that we can very successfully deliver Range Rover levels of quality, drivability and breadth of performance in a more compact, more sustainable, package.”

Business secretary Peter Mandelson said: “The project would secure production and employment at the Halewood facility and maintain the design capability for Jaguar Land Rover in the UK. This is an important investment for the future and we are delighted to be able to offer this grant support.”

The Halewood factory, which employs 2000 people, currently produces the Land Rover Freelander 2 and Jaguar X-TYPE.