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Jaguar Land Rover to upgrade Castle Bromwich plant to build EVs

LONDON — Jaguar Land Rover is making a multi-million pound investment to build electric vehicles in Britain, in a major boost for the UK government and a sector hit by the slump in diesel sales and Brexit uncertainty. Britain's biggest car company, which built 30 percent of the UK's 1.5 million cars last year, will make a range of electrified vehicles at its Castle Bromwich plant in central England, beginning with its luxury saloon, the XJ. "The future of mobility is electric and, as a visionary British company, we are committed to making our next generation of zero-emission vehicles in the UK," Chief Executive Ralf Speth said on Friday. The announcement gives a boost to Britain's automotive sector hit this year by Honda and Ford's plans to close factories. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has highlighted the dangers of a no-deal Brexit and the need to maintain frictionless trade with the European Union, echoing warnings from the industry that just-in-time production could be hit by customs delays and additional bureaucracy. But it has signed a deal with workers at the Castle Bromwich factory to go from a five-day to a four-day working week with the same amount of hours which should allow the plant to operate more efficiently. Three of JLR's four European car plants are in Britain, giving it limited capacity elsewhere on the continent. The other, in Slovakia, only opened last year and is still being ramped up with other models allocated there. "We are making this investment because the ongoing Brexit uncertainty has left us with no choice, we had to act, for our employees and our business," JLR said. "We are committed to the UK as our home and will fight to stay here but we need the right deal." Both candidates to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, have both said they are prepared to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 without a deal, although it is not their preferred option. Brexiteers have argued that the EUÂ’s biggest economy Germany, which exports hundreds of thousands of cars to Britain ever year, would do its utmost to protect that trade Friday's announcement comes after a turbulent few months for Jaguar which announced around 4,500 job cuts earlier in January and posted a 3.66 billion pound ($4.5 billion) loss in 2018/19.

European automakers gear up for Brazilian production

Brazil is the place to be, apparently. Toyota has been investing in the South American country, as has BMW, which announced a $261 million investment in October 2012, on the heels of an Audi factory announcement in San José Chiapa. The high-end immigration is only set to continue, as Mercedes-Benz and Jaguar-Land Rover have both announced plans to set up manufacturing operations there.
Mercedes is the big news here, as its new facility will see the German manufacturer invest 170-million euros for production of its next-generation C-Class and upcoming GLA-Class. "Brazil is an important future market. With our local production we accept the challenge and take on the competition," noted Andreas Renschler, Management Board member for Production and Procurement at Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans. Production is expected to begin by 2016.
Jaguar-Land Rover, meanwhile, isn't so concrete in its plans. The news of its investment in South America comes from a job posting for a plant quality manager in Brazil that was picked up by the UK's AutoCar. "Portuguese language skills will be definite advantage" for interested candidates, according to the job listing. The want ad follows on the heels of remarks by Jaguar Land Rover's Dr. Ralph Speth, who said there are "very intensive discussions" with Brazil's government. Unlike Mercedes, there's no mention of which vehicles will be produced in South America, although AutoCar thinks the Freelander, sold in the US as the LR2, is a leading contender.

Jaguar Land Rover gets to work on new university R&D center

Jaguar Land Rover has a raft of new products in the pipeline, from the new Defender to the next-generation XF sedan. But new product isn't the only thing the British automaker is investing in: it's also opening new facilities around the world, including what it's calling the National Automotive Innovation Centre back home in the UK. Based at the University of Warwick, the new $220-million R&D center is the result of a joint effort between JLR, its parent company Tata, the manufacturing arm of the university and the British government. The facility will bring together professionals from the automaker as well as its suppliers with academics to encourage, as the name suggests, innovation in the automotive sector. Its 355,000 square feet are earmarked to become the hub for Jaguar Land Rover's advanced research activities, including "workshops, laboratories, virtual engineering suites and advanced powertrain facilities, equipped to enable a full range of design, visualisation and prototyping activities." The cornerstore was just laid in a ceremony this week, but the facility isn't due to open until the Spring of 2017 when it will encompass some 1,000 employees, including 600 relocated by JLR to the new location from other sites in the UK. Related Video: Construction Begins On New UK Automotive Innovation Centre For Jaguar Land Rover - GBP150 million National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) will open in Spring 2017, providing a state-of-the-art technology hub for Jaguar Land Rover's advanced research team and collaborative partners from the supply chain and academia - To keep the UK and Jaguar Land Rover at the forefront of global innovation, the team will develop the vehicles and personal mobility solutions of the future - The NAIC will focus on inspiring the next generation of engineers - from schoolchildren to undergraduates.