Tata Motors-owned luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today said it plans to build the XJ saloon in India, its third model to be made in the country.
The XJ model from the iconic British company follows the Jaguar XF and LandRover Freelander.
"The XJ will become the third model from the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) group to be built in India, following on from the Jaguar XF and the LandRover Freelander," JLR CEO Ralf Speth was quoted as saying by the BBC.
However, Speth sought to allay any fears of the manufacturing future of Britain being ignored by the company's Indian owners.
"We do have a parent company that is Indian and without this parent company, JLR wouldn't exist," he said.
"But JLR is both English and British. It's the compelling combination of British design and engineering that differentiates us around the world. Look at the huge investment that we make in Britain, and at the way we hire people, and you can see we are committed to Britain," he said.
JLR invested over 1.5 billion pounds in its British manufacturing base last year and created about 2,500 jobs.
After the Tatas acquired the flagging brands in 2008 amid a global economic slowdown, the company sold a record 425,000 cars in 2013, with sales now coming in 39 different markets round the world and India being a key growth region.
"The cars Jaguar and Land Rover will develop in the future will reflect a range of challenges and opportunities. We are going to deliver new models that are smarter, more connected and cleaner than ever before," Wolfgang Ziebart, JLR Group Engineering Director said.
