Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to invest about R4,2-billion in a new engine assembly plant in the UK’s Midlands – an investment that should secure 2 000 jobs in the area and will create a further 1 200 employment opportunities associated with the plant’s supply chain.
The plant will take around two years to complete and will be based in Wolverhampton’s i54 business park.
The UK’s business secretary, Vince Cable, told The Telegraph that this announcement “was a vote of confidence in the UK’s economic recovery from JLR’s Indian owners, Tata Motors. There was fierce competition for this engine plant. Tata could have done it in India, they could have done it in various places,” he said.
The UK Government has pledged to underpin JLR’s investment with a R120-million support package, citing the plant’s positive impact on the local economy. “The most important way in which it can act as a catalyst for other investments is through the supply chain,” Cable said. But, the plant will not rely on any further public funds.
JLR currently sources its engines from Ford’s assembly plants in Dagenham and Bridgend, but company representatives have indicated that it wants to have greater control over its supply chain.
