Increased demand from the US, Russia and China has led Jaguar Land Rover to create 800 production jobs at its Solihull plant.
The one-year contracts will be converted into permanent positions if market conditions remain good enough.
The car-maker, owned by Indian company Tata, had already anticipated that its prospect for 2013 was positive after its sales in the UK rose by 20% last year.
The news comes as a welcome boost to the automotive industry in the UK, following the announcement last week that Honda would cut 800 jobs at its facility in Swindon.
Unite AGS Tony Burke commented: “Although the contracts are for one year, we hope that we can convert them into well paid, permanent jobs in the future. The Evoque is a very successful export leader so there is no reason why that can’t happen in the future.”
JLR’s plant in the West Midlands is responsible for the production of the Range Rover Defender and Discovery models.
The announcement is proof of the increased importance of the Chinese market, where sales of Jaguar Land Rover’s vehicles have risen 80% in 2012. It recently set-up a joint venture with China’s Chery Automobile to set up a factory.
