Having recently announced a joint venture between itself and Chery Automobile company, Jaguar Land Rover has now signed a letter of intent with the National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to assess the possibility of establishing a production facility there.
Prince Faisal Bin Turki bin Abdul Azi Al Saud and the Saudi Arabian Government has expressed its intention to initiate, develop and support the automotive industries, viewing Jaguar Land Rover as a potential partner to help strengthen their industrialisation plans. The establishment of the world’s largest integrated aluminum complex, a joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Mining company and US-based Alcoa is set to commence in 2014 and could prove a catalyst for JLR’s presence, especially given the firm’s extensive use of aluminium in its products (Jaguar XJ and new Range Rover).
The signing of a letter of agreement between Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and the NICDP will initiate a process of a detailed study to determine the viability of establishing an automotive production facility.
Dr. Ralf Speth, Chief Executive of Jaguar Land Rover, said: “We are committed to further international partnerships to meet record demand for our highly sought after vehicles. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an attractive potential development option, complementing our existing advanced facilities in Britain and recent manufacturing plans to expand in other countries including India and China. “
Discussions between Jaguar Land Rover and the Saudi Government are at a preliminary stage. Pending agreement on development options in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jaguar Land Rover would expect to announce further plans in 2013.
