India Inc:
Tata Motors owned luxury car-maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plans to spend an extra £1 billion over the next four years to meet the robust global demand for its Range Rover Evoque model. JLR confirmed the additional spend this week.This figure will be over and above supply contracts worth £2 billion already signed in March last year with over 40 suppliers in the UK.
The company will also open a new logistics plant in the UK over the next few months at Ellesmere Port in Cheshire, which will create around 300 jobs, a company statement confirmed.
JLR has sold over 60,000 compact Evoque SUVs worldwide since its launch in September last year.
“The demand we have seen across the globe for the Range Rover Evoque means we are able to significantly increase what we spend with our suppliers, which is great news for the UK economy and the thousands of jobs JLR supports in its supply chain,” said Ralf Speth, chief executive of JLR.
It marks a remarkable turnaround in fortunes of the struggling brand acquired by Tata back in 2008.
The latest investment comes on the back of plans to nearly triple the workforce at the Halewood plant on Merseyside and expand the facility at Castle Bromwich to build new Jaguar models and overhaul the brand.
The company wants a convertible version of the F-Type to go on sale next year, followed by the launch of a coupe and is investing about £1.5 billion a year on research and development.
Jaguar has plans to launch 40 new models or variants of new models in the next five years and has already hired thousands of staff across the UK since 2009.
JLR is benefiting from booming demand for its premium cars in emerging markets such as India and China.
