Jaguar Land Rover, the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, is to invest £100m in its Birmingham, Castle Bromwich plant to support the production of the Jaguar XE – the firm’s mid-priced premium sport sedan.
The arrival of XE at Castle Bromwich continues the renaissance of the plant, which was slated for closure in 2008. 3000 people are now employed at the 112-acres site.
This new investment takes the total spent on the site to more than £500m over the last two years, and marks the return of all Jaguar’s sports and saloon car manufacturing to the Birmingham plant. The XF, F-TYPE and XJ, are also built at the plant.
Nicolas Guibert, Castle Bromwich operations director, said: “2016 is a pivotal year for Castle Bromwich. The arrival of the XE sees us increase our model lines and volume.
“This plant has a rich heritage and is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades, with major infrastructure projects either complete or under way. The commissioning of our all-new press line and launch of our body shop to support the introduction of XE means Castle Bromwich is future-proof.”
Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull plant will continue to operate three shifts, 24 hours a day, to keep up with global demand for the Jaguar F-PACE and Range Rover Sport which are built on the same production line.
The Jaguar XE was the first model developed using Jaguar's advanced, Lightweight Aluminium Architecture and is the most fuel-efficient of the firm’s cars.
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I´d have to say - ´help´ - in the longer term. It is well recognised that productivity in the UK lags well behind our major industrial competitors and...