Jaguar Land Rover has announced 1,700 new jobs are to be created at its Solihull factory as part of a £1.5bn investment in new technology.
Tata Motors-owned JLR plans to to introduce a technologically advanced aluminium vehicle architecture in a new range of models.
With an investment totalling £1.5bn, the jobs will be created at the automotive’s advanced manufacturing facility at Solihull in the West Midlands to meet the requirements of the enhanced product portfolio.
The news was revealed by chief executive Dr Ralf Speth at the Frankfurt Motor Show, who said: “Jaguar Land Rover is a business driven by design, technology and innovation and this investment and level of job creation is yet further evidence of our commitment to advancing the capability of the UK automotive sector and its supply chain.”
JLR’s first model to have the new architecture will be a Jaguar sports sedan which is due for launch in 2015.
It will also feature the first engine to be built at a new £500m Engine Manufacturing Centre near Wolverhampton.
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UK Business Secretary Vince Cable said: “Jaguar Land Rover has been experiencing great success over the last couple of years but this ground-breaking project takes Jaguar onto the next level.
“This all-aluminium architecture project typifies the type of innovative and high value R&D that the UK excels in and Government is supporting through the automotive industrial strategy.”
The latest announcement coincides with JLR’s August sales figures, which saw a hike of 18%.
Jaguar sold 5,405 vehicles, up 92 per cent, Land Rover sold 22,447 – a hike of 18 per cent, while the total figure of JLR vehicles sold this year has reached 269,653.
