As expected, Tata subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has today announced plans for a manufacturing facility in Brazil.
JLR’s planned expansion into Brazil is described by the company as “the next major step in the company’s strategy to increase its global manufacturing footprint and create additional capacity”.
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Construction of the manufacturing facility will commence in mid-2014. It is anticipated that the first vehicles will come off the assembly line in 2016, subject to the final approval of the plans from the Brazilian Federal Government under its Inovar-auto Programme. The new plant will have a capacity to build 24,000 vehicles annually for the Brazilian market.
Initially, the plant will employ almost 400 people. This number is expected to almost double by the end of the decade. This new manufacturing facility will also create additional jobs across the local supply chain network.
Dr Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, said, “Brazil and the surrounding regions are very important. Customers there have an increasing appetite for highly capable premium products.
“This new programme will enable us to bring exciting new vehicles to them, with outstanding British design and engineering, creating a world-class Jaguar Land Rover facility incorporating leading premium manufacturing technologies.
“We have established excellent working relationships with the State of Rio de Janeiro, the City of Itatiaia & the Rio de Janeiro State Industrial Development Company and we look forward to attracting new customers to our business in this important market.”
Phil Popham, JLR’s marketing chief, recently told just-auto that the company has formed a new Global Business Expansion team that it is looking at production opportunities around the world. These include Brazil where there is a very strong market for Land Rover products.
“Brazil is by far the biggest market in quite a volatile region in terms of sales and currencies but we are looking at the long term potential,” Popham said.
