Jaguar Land Rover is to start assembly of a third model at its factory in India by the end of this year.
Chief executive officer Ralf Speth said the flagship Jaguar XJ will join the XF and Land Rover Freelander models already being made at the plant in Pune. Both brands are struggling to keep up with global demand and JLR is using all the capacity it can in the UK and India before new assembly operations open up in China and Brazil.
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Local assembly in India is also important as import taxes can double the price of complete vehicles. The Pune factory is owned by parent company Tata Motors and will help meet growing demand in India.
Speth said: “Our sales grew 21% last year and we expect to increase that further with more local production. We are also increasing our dealer numbers from 19 across 17 cities to 24 by the end of this year.”
The Freelander has been assembled in Pune since 2010 and was joined by the XF last year. From the end of this year, Pune will make three-litre diesel and two-litre petrol versions of the XJ.
