Tata confirms i54 for new Jaguar Land Rover plant
JAGUAR Land Rover parent Tata Motors today confirmed it is to go ahead with plans to build a new engine plant on the i54 site, north of Wolverhampton.
The £355m plant is set to create around 2,000 new jobs, both in high value manufacturing jobs and the development of a new supply chain.
The i54 site is thought to have beaten off competition from 100 other potential locations around the world to secure the new factory. This was eventually narrowed down to three – the others being South Wales and India – before today’s decision.
Business Secretary Vince Cable was at Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant for the announcement.
He said: “JLR choosing Wolverhampton for its new engine plant in the face of tough international competition is a tremendous boost for manufacturing in the UK and the West Midlands in particular.
“This announcement sends out strong signals to potential inward investors across the world and is a huge vote of confidence in our successful automotive sector in the UK and the skills and expertise in our workforce.”
Tata Motors is thought to have delayed confirmation of the decision until full Enterprise Zone status was conferred on the site last month.
Sources close to the deal confirmed today that Tata had been considering the site since March.
The move enabled investment to be pumped into the site to develop an infrastructure capable of supporting such a development.
Staffordshire County Council leader Philip Atkins said: “This is tremendous news for Staffordshire and Wolverhampton, the Midlands and the UK. When made aware of the interest in the site by Jaguar Land Rover, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet, along with that in Wolverhampton, acted promptly and decisively in making the decision to invest in it. We worked hard in a short space of time to make absolutely sure our bid met the expectations of a world leading company.”
Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership leaders had been confident of a decision before the end of September.
However, their pitch to the government to secure EZ status for i54 was based solely around a new factory on the site.
They said the factory would anchor the site allowing a whole supply chain to feed into it.
In an unexpected move, the government also granted EZ status on a smaller site at the former James Bridge Copper Works at Darlaston. The strategy is to use this site as an overspill for component suppliers not just to JLR but to the aerospace sector, which is already represented on i54 through Moog and Eurofins.
The two EZ sites are also close to an established motorway network allowing easy access, which means JLR will be able to keep stock levels to a minimum.
The plan is similar in strategy to the one adopted by BMW for its Mini production.
The i54 plant would also be within easy access of JLR’s existing plants at Castle Bromwich and Lode Lane in Solihull.
It is thought Tata has delayed making an announcement until now so as not to deflect attention away from the launch of the new Range Rover Evoque and its concept launches at the Frankfurt Motor Show last week.
Also, with Birmingham hosting the Liberal Democrat conference this week, today was also an opportunity for Mr Cable to visit the firm.
The engine plant is needed to help sustain the growth of the company which despite declining sales in the UK is proving a global success story.
Global sales of Jaguar Land Rover in August 2011 were at 21,242 vehicles, up 31% over August 2010. Jaguar sales for the month stood at 3,409, down 10% but this was compensated for by sales of Land Rover being up 43% on August 2010, at 17,833.
Cumulative sales for the fiscal year to date are 102,451, up 10% on 2010.
