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Jaguar Land Rover likely to build US plant... in three years

Jaguar Land Rover may very well open a plant in the United States, but the latest word has it that it'll be another three years or so before the company even makes a decision on the matter. The prospect first came up on our radar back in October when we reported that JLR was considering building a plant in the South. Georgia governor Nathan Deal even flew to the UK to solicit JLR's business. Former parent-company chairman Ratan Tata subsequently confirmed the idea was under consideration last month. And now the British automaker's CEO has told Automotive News that JLR will need a US assembly plant to fuel its growth in the vital North American market, but that'll it'll take a while to get going. The reasons for the delay, according to chief executive Ralf Speth, are threefold. For one thing, the automaker has its hands full at the moment opening plants in other locations: last year it opened one in China and this year it opened one in Brazil. It also recently opened a new SVO facility, an electric-propulsion R&D center and a new engine plant all in the UK, and can only handle building so many new facilities at a time. JLR will also need US suppliers of aluminum components to step up their game, as the company relies heavily on aluminum construction for their vehicles. US automakers shifting to aluminum for models like the new Ford F-150 will encourage American suppliers to get into the game, but it may be a while before they're up to Jaguar Land Rover standards. Finally, JLR will need to increase its sales potential in the US in order to justify local production. Speth says the company would need one model of which it could sell 30,000 to 40,000 units in the US alone, and it sold less than 18,000 units of its best-selling the Range Rover Sport here last year. In fact the entire Jaguar brand sold less than 16,000 units throughout all of last year in America, with Land Rover selling far more at over 50,000 units to contribute to total sales of over 67,000 units. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jaguar Land Rover Engine Manufacturing Center View 16 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Jaguar Land Rover Plants/Manufacturing Jaguar Land Rover jaguar land rover jlr

Jaguar Land Rover might buy another luxury brand that it doesn't need

It seems that Jaguar Land Rover may be getting bigger in the near future. According to Bloomberg, the company is looking at acquiring some tech companies, and possibly yet another luxury car brand, provided that it fits with the current lineup of cars. On the surface, this makes some sense since Bloomberg reports that a whopping 78 percent of Tata Motors' revenue comes from luxury brands. And of course, any kind of tech acquisition could be useful considering the rapid development of electric and autonomous vehicles. But dig a little deeper, and a possible luxury brand acquisition just doesn't make sense for Jaguar Land Rover. The main reason for this is that the Jaguar and Land Rover brands have the luxury market thoroughly covered. Both brands offer full luxury lines from entry-level to high-end ( Discovery Sport to Range Rover on the Land Rover side, and XE to XJ on the Jaguar side). They also cater to every kind of luxury, from sporty vehicles such as the F-Type and SVR Land Rovers, to cushy luxury machines such as the XJ and Range Rover. So whether the company is competing with BMW or Mercedes, Jaguar and Land Rover have the bases covered. There aren't any other typical luxury brands that would actually add anything to the current lineup. In fact, adding another conventional luxury brand could actually result in the new brand poaching existing Jaguar and Land Rover buyers, rather than picking up new ones. What would make more sense for Jaguar Land Rover would be to pick up either a more mainstream brand, or an ultra-luxury marque. Neither Jaguar nor Land Rover has something that competes directly with the likes of Ford or Toyota in the mainstream game, or Rolls-Royce or Bentley at the top of the luxury heap. Picking up a brand in one of these segments would allow JLR and Tata Motors to actually expand offerings and pick up more sales, rather than having an internal competitor. What path would be ideal? Probably going even farther upmarket. Supercar makers and ultra-luxury brands continue to sell well, and there's the potential for significant profit by layering on features and content to existing platforms. Perhaps the best possibility for a high-end complement to Jaguar Land Rover would be Aston Martin. Not only does it have a strong reputation and line-up, it also could handle both supercars and luxury sedans, thanks to its Lagonda sub brand. Of course it would require Aston Martin to be receptive to a purchase.

Driving the 2020 Lotus Evora GT, and Defenders at a trickle | Autoblog Podcast #631

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Producer Christopher McGraw and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer. First, they talk about driving the 2020 Lotus Evora GT. Then they take some time to update any new happenings and opinions on our long-term Subaru Forester and Volvo S60 T8 plug-in hybrid. In the news this week, the new Land Rover Defender is in short supply, and Tesla is rumored to be creating a 12-passenger shuttle for use in The Boring Company tunnels. Finally, we reach into the mailbag to help a listener replace a Mazda3 hatch with something to better match their lifestyle. Autoblog Podcast #631 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving: 2020 Lotus Evora GT 2019 Subaru Forester long-term update 2020 Volvo S60 T8 long-term update The 2020 Land Rover Defender is in short supply Tesla may be working on 12-passenger shuttle for The Boring Co. Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.