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Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will set up a one-billion pound premium manufacturing plant in Slovakia to make all-new aluminium vehicles as part of its commitment to deliver lightweight cars, the company said today.
The UK-based luxury car maker clinched an agreement with the government of the Slovak Republic to build a new plant in the city of Nitra, western Slovakia. The new world-class manufacturing facility is expected to employ around 2,800 people over time.
"Jaguar Land Rover is delighted today to welcome Slovakia into our family. The new factory will complement our existing facilities in the UK, China, India and Brazil and marks the next step in the company's strategy to become a truly global business," said CEO of Jaguar Land Rover Dr Ralf Speth.
"Slovakia has an established premium automotive sector, which represents 43 per cent of the country's overall industry. It has more than 300 suppliers in close proximity and an excellent logistics infrastructure; this confirmed our decision that this country was the ideal location," he said.
As part of its commitment to deliver more lightweight vehicles, the new plant will manufacture a range of all-new aluminium JLR vehicles, the company said.
It is anticipated that the first cars will come off the production line in late 2018.
The factory will have an initial capacity of 1,50,000 vehicles and construction will commence in 2016.
Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico, who signed the agreement with Dr Speth said, "We are glad that Jaguar Land Rover has chosen Slovakia for its new world-class manufacturing facility. This decision shows that with a stable and solid business environment, Slovakia is an attractive place for investors. And the marriage of Slovak craftsmanship and British engineering holds great promise."
JLR selected Slovakia as the location for its next manufacturing site following "robust analysis" of a number of locations around the world including other European countries, the US and Mexico.
Jaguar Land Rover has made significant progress in building its international manufacturing presence over the last year. It opened a new joint venture in China and commenced construction of its local manufacturing plant in Brazil at the end of 2014.
The creation of new international plants allows Jaguar Land Rover to offer its customers even more exciting new models, protect against currency fluctuations and create a globally competitive business, the company said.
The latest announcement follows Jaguar Land Rover's recent confirmation to double its investment in its engine plant in the UK to almost 1 billion pound, the largest injection into a new British manufacturing plant in decades creating several hundred new jobs.
"The heart of our company will always be in the UK, where our design, technology and manufacturing capabilities are based. It is our creativity and innovation which makes Jaguar Land Rover the leading boutique automotive brand, offering exceptional products for our customers," Speth said.
The company has invested heavily in its UK vehicle manufacturing facilities at Castle Bromwich, Halewood and Solihull to support the introduction of all-new vehicles such as the Jaguar XE, XF and F-PACE, Range Rover Evoque Convertible and Land Rover Discovery Sport.
In addition, it plans to expand its advanced engineering and design centre at Whitley, Coventry and invest in the National Automotive Innovation Centre at the University of Warwick. Over the past five years, JLR has employed more than 20,000 people taking its workforce to more than 37,000 and invested more than 11 billion pound in new product creation and capital expenditure, the company said.
