Jaguar Land Rover set for further massive investment in West Midlands
VEHICLE manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover is set to make a further massive investment into production facilities in the West Midlands.
The Indian-owned company is to invest more than £450m into Jaguar production at its plant in Castle Bromwich while it is also spending £400m improving its research and development facilities at its Coventry headquarters.
The move comes as the company unveiled its latest new product – the all-new Jaguar XF – in a spectacular high-wire stunt over the Royal Dock in London’s Canary Wharf.
While the company has yet to officially confirm the new investment – or the scale of new jobs that could be involved – the industry has been buzzing with the news for a while.
The announcement for Coventry is especially significant coming less than a week after work began on the new National Automotive Innovation Centre at the University of Warwick, in which JLR is a major investor.
The investment into Castle Bromwich is likely to see the plant fitted out an aluminium bodyshop similar to the one installed at nearby Lode Lane for production of the new Jaguar XE. The Castle Bromwich facility is likely to have production of the new XF and any derivatives of that such as an estate.
The company’s land grab around the Birmingham site has suggested for a while that major expansion plans are in the offing, but this latest move fails to take into account suggestions of further global expansion for the group, including plants in the United States and Austria, the latter for electric vehicle production.
Observers have said the latest plans demonstrate the company’s continued commitment to the region and to UK manufacturing in general.
In Coventry, the company is thought to be planning a new research and development facility next to its Whitley base. The move could create thousands of new jobs, both directly and through the supply chain.
It is a further commitment to the area following the company’s decision to locate its new Special Vehicles Operation division at Ryton.
Reports have suggested that the latest move could be part of a phased development by JLR to re-establish volume car production in the city. Further reports have speculated that production of the replacement for the iconic Defender could be switched from Solihull to a new site in Coventry but again there is no confirmation of this.
If the plans come to fruition then it will mean a massive renaissance of manufacturing jobs in Coventry.
Just last month it was confirmed that the Chinese owner of London Taxi Company is planning to invest £200m into a new factory in Ansty Park producing electric versions of its classic black cab. The move could lead to 1,000 new jobs being created.
