Jaguar Land Rover has started building its manufacturing plant in Itatiaia, in the east of Rio de Janeiro state, as part of a spend of BRL750m/$300m and is considering a second model for the new plant after the previously announced Land Rover Discovery Sport.
During the cornerstone laying ceremony, Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralph Speth announced the creation of an education centre for Latin America, similar to one in the UK.
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For Speth “it is a significant landmark and it represents one more step in our plans to turn ever more into a global automaker”.
JLR is the first British automaker to invest in the construction of a factory in Brazil. It will cover an area of 60,000 sq m/71,760 sq yd, will create 400 direct jobs, and will have capacity to assemble up to 24,000 vehicles a year.
JLR also has a new full manufacturing plant in China plus assembly plants in India (shared with parent Tata Motors) and a contract assembler in Malaysia. The newly-established international manufacturing operations will boost the presence of the two brands in markets offering high growth potential. The additional production capacity will complement the three UK plants.
The investment in Brazil is the group’s full responsibility and its first one outside the country of origin because the new Chinese unit is a joint venture with Chery and the parent company itself participates in India.
The new Discovery Sport has been confirmed as one of the vehicles JLR plans to produce here in Brazil by 2016.
Questioned by just-auto, JLR president for Latin America and Caribbean, Terry Hill, did not confirm nor deny the would be the Jaguar XE.
“We continue to study a second product”, Hill said, hinting a decision was not far off.
Land Rover has been in Brazil – as an import brand and with local CKD assembly operations – for over 20 years and accounted for 50% of the high-end SUV market in the last three years.
By March 2015, JLR will have 42 dealers in the country’s five regions. Its Jaguar sales almost quadrupled last year compared with 2012.
