Jaguar Land Rover to expand Merseyside plant and add 1,500 jobs

2012 Range Rover Evoque

Jaguar Land Rover is planning to double the size of its Merseyside factory and create 1,500 new jobs in a major boost to the Coalition's drive to rebalance the economy.

An expansion of the plant – one of the biggest car manufacturing facilities in the UK – comes amid growing worries over a slowdown in UK industry and the prospects of a double dip recession in the wider economy.

JLR's Land Rover plant in Halewood is at full capacity producing the new Range Rover Evoque and growing the factory will allow the company to keep up with surging demand for its products.

Sources familiar with the situation say the company is exploring plans to double the size of the plant by developing on surrounding land. This will represent an investment of around £100m, although the proposals are thought to be at a relatively early stage.

The premium car maker has already confirmed it is building a £355m engine plant in Wolverhampton and is redeveloping its factory in Solihull. It has hired thousands of new employees over the last 12 months to launch new models.

The release of the Evoque, nicknamed the "Baby Range Rover", has sparked another stage of expansion for JLR.

Its sales are up 30pc year-on-year. It is understood the company is on course to post new record profits for the 2012 financial year and could even make £1.5bn.

JLR employees were called into work over Christmas to work a special shift to help keep up with demand.

An expansion of Halewood, which employs 3,000 people at present, will take the UK another step towards producing a record number of cars. The country produced 1.9m cars a year in its manufacturing heyday in the early 1970s.

However, it could break that annual record within five to 10 years following £4bn of investment in the last 12 months from car makers such as Toyota, BMW and JLR.

JLR has enjoyed a remarkable turnaround since seeking loan guarantees from the Labour Government in 2009. Demand for its premium cars in emerging markets led to JLR posting record profits of £1.1bn in the year to March 31, 2011.



Under chief executive Ralf Speth and Indian parent Tata, JLR is investing more than £1bn a year into research and development. It wants to launch 40 new vehicles in the next five years, including a Jaguar sports car and a new Land Rover Defender.

The company is in talks with Chinese car maker Chery about a joint venture that would allow JLR to open manufacturing facilities in China for the domestic market. The car maker is also exploring how it can work more closely with British schools in order to boost the number of engineering graduates.

A spokesman for JLR said: "JLR has not made any announcements about Halewood and we do not comment on speculation about possible future plans."

Despite the global economic uncertainty, a new survey from General Electric says 71pc of high-tech manufacturers in Britain are forecasting their business will grow in 2012.

Out of more than 350 businesses questioned, a quarter said their business will grow by more than 10pc. The manufacturers said this is due to demand from emerging markets, the helpful exchange rate and internal improvements in products and services.

The growth predictions have been made despite only 15pc of manufacturers being positive about the UK economy. Also, 26pc said bank finance remained either impossible to obtain, or obtainable only on unacceptable terms".

Mark Elborne, chief executive of GE UK, said: "These figures demonstrate UK high-tech manufacturing is still a growth story and can play a pivotal role in turning round the UK's economy. It is encouraging to see that a good proportion of these firms are expecting significant growth in the next 12 months. However, we need to ensure conditions are right to help them grow and take advantages of the opportunities on offer."

Source: Telegraph

Wolverhampton Jaguar Land Rover plant approved

Three councils have been involved in a bid to attract JLR to the site

Plans to build a £350m Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) facility near Wolverhampton have been given the go-ahead by South Staffordshire Council.

JLR has said it was creating up to 750 jobs at a site on the Staffordshire-Wolverhampton border.

The luxury carmaker, owned by Indian firm Tata, is investing to build low-emission engines.

The council said it was thought work to prepare the site at the i54 business park near the M54 may start in January.



JLR has said it expected the facility to create up to 750 engineering and manufacturing posts, along with hundreds more jobs in the supply chain and the wider UK economy.

Factory saved

Councillors in South Staffordshire backed the proposals on Tuesday evening after plans were submitted in October.

South Staffordshire Council said the bid to attract JLR to the i54 site was jointly made by itself, Staffordshire County Council and Wolverhampton City Council.

It added Staffordshire County and Wolverhampton City councils would now embark on a project to construct a new slip road off the M54 at junction 2, which would serve the i54 site.

Both councils were investing about £20m into the scheme.

Last year JLR said it was reversing a decision to close one of its two West Midlands factories.

The group, based in Gaydon, Warwickshire, produces Land Rovers in two plants in Solihull in the West Midlands and in Halewood in Merseyside, while Jaguar models are produced at the Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham.

Councillor Brian Cox, chairman of South Staffordshire Council's regulatory committee, said: "It is a very important project and one which will benefit the entire region for years to come."



Source: BBC UK

Jaguar Land Rover confirms new UK plant

Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to build a £355m engine plant in the Midlands, creating more than 2,000 jobs and pumping millions of pounds worth of business into the supply chain. 

Jaguar Land Rover's new Midlands plant could eventually employ up to 2,000 workers

JLR made the announcement alongside Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, following a Government pledge to underpin JLR's investment with a £10m support package.

The new plant will be based at the i54 business park in Wolverhampton, an enterprise zone, and will take around two years to build.

The Business Secretary said the announcement was a vote of confidence in the UK's recovery from Jaguar's owners Tata Motors.

"There was fierce competition for this engine plant. Tata could have done it in India, they could have done it in various places," Mr Cable said today.

"But they've chosen to invest in Britain and in the West Midlands, which we take as a great sign of confidence."

The facility could eventually employ up to 2,000 workers, and a further 1,200 jobs will be created in the area and associated supply chain.

As well as the jobs created at the plant, Mr Cable said there would be other opportunities created by the deal.

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"The most important way in which it can act as a catalyst for other investments is through the supply chain," he added.

"There is something in the order of 15,000 direct employees of Tata but they bring with them about 140,000 employees in the supply chain.

"What we want to see is companies that might recently have migrated out of Britain because of problems in the country in recent years coming back here and making components for these new car plants in Britain."

Today's announcement is also a significant political win for the Coalition government, which is seeking to rebalance the economy by boosting manufacturing and reducing its reliance on banking.



Mr Cable said: "One of the attractions of the West Midlands is this is the heartland of the motor industry. There's a tradition of skilled labour, which is absolutely crucial to their business and I think they are showing confidence in the fact that we've put the boat out for them, we've shown them that we want to work with them.

"They've concluded this was the best place to be."

The Business Secretary said the £10m Government grant was a show of support for the manufacturer but with £350m investment from Tata, the project did not rely on public funds.

It marks a turnaround in the fortunes of JLR since it was acquired by Tata Motors in 2008. JLR's engines are currently supplied by Ford from plants including Dagenham and Bridgend, but the car maker wants to take more control of its supply chain.

Source: The Telegraph

Jaguar confirms £400m plant in the Midlands: Sunday Telegraph

Jaguar Land Rover is poised to deliver a major boost to the Government's plans to boost growth by confirming this week that it will build a £400m engine plant in the Midlands that will potentially create up to 2,000 jobs.

The Sunday Telegraph understands JLR could announce the engine plant as early as Monday alongside Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, and that it has secured financial support from the Government to bring the plant to the UK. The engine plant will be based at the i54 business park in Wolverhampton, which has been made an enterprise zone. The Coalition has also offered around £10m of support for the JLR plant, although it is not clear what form this will take.

The car industry has been identified as "crucial" by the Government if the UK is to increase the size of its manufacturing base and exports. JLR's decision to expand into a new factory will be warmly welcomed.

The plant is likely to take around two years to build and could eventually employ up to 2,000 workers, according to a source close to the negotiations.

JLR's fortunes have undergone a dramatic transformation under the ownership of Indian group, Tata Motors, which bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford in 2008.

Source: Telegraph