Chief Secretary To The Treasury Visits Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull Site To Witness Significant Growth And Investment

LONDON - Jan 24, 2014: Jaguar Land Rover, the UK's leading manufacturer of premium vehicles, today welcomed Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury to showcase growth and expansion plans for its Solihull site.

Danny Alexander commented “On the day UK car production hit a six year high, it’s great to see the work Jaguar Land Rover are doing to invest in their manufacturing and R&D facilities in the UK are supporting the revival of the UK’s manufacturing industry and boosting the overall UK economy.”

Following a record breaking year for overall Jaguar Land Rover sales in 2013, the Solihull site, which has produced Land Rover vehicles for over 65 years, has ambitious plans for growth to meet customer demand. Last year, the company announced that 1,700 new jobs were to be created at the Solihull plant which currently employs 6,000 people across the 300 acre site. All new employees will undertake a structured training programme which includes working towards an NVQ II qualification in Business Improvement Techniques, reinforcing the organisation’s commitment to expanding its skills base.

Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive apprenticeship provider and the 2014 apprenticeship recruitment campaign is currently open for applicants until the 31st January. 150 new recruits will join the 500 apprentices currently undertaking the scheme across its six UK sites. The award-winning apprenticeship programme provides students with a strong blend of real world experience and academic learning. Recruits will have the opportunity to work alongside world-class engineers in cutting edge manufacturing environments, developing vehicles for two iconic global motoring brands.

Jaguar Land Rover, named Responsible Business of the Year in 2013, has invested more than £370m in its Solihull manufacturing plant to support the introduction of the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport vehicles. This includes the installation of a state-of-the-art alumunium body shop which Danny Alexander visited as part of his tour of the plant.

In 2014, as part of an additional £1.5bn investment, the site will introduce manufacturing facilities to support an all-new technically advanced aluminium vehicle architecture which will deliver an enhanced range of models for Jaguar Land Rover in new segments and markets around the world. The first new model to utilise this innovative architecture will be an all-new mid-sized sports sedan from Jaguar which will be launched in 2015.

Mike Wright, Executive Director at Jaguar Land Rover concluded “We need to continue to invest in world-class manufacturing technology and source the best people to produce our award winning vehicles. The plans are further evidence of our commitment to advancing the capability of the UK automotive industry which benefits the wider supply chain and overall UK economy.”