Jaguar Land Rover Welcomes Low Carbon Vehicle and Engineering Announcement

GAYDON, UNITED KINGDOM - February 12, 2010: Jaguar Land Rover warmly welcomes the news that the Midlands has been declared a low carbon economic area for advanced automotive engineering and the confirmation by Advantage West Midlands of a £19.5m investment in a Low Carbon Vehicle Technology (LCVT) Programme to promote the development of specialist low carbon engineering skills and vehicle technologies.

Jaguar Land Rover head of research, Tony Harper, said: "Environmental innovation is a keystone of Jaguar Land Rover's business philosophy. Jaguar Land Rover is investing hundreds of millions into technology research, development and innovation to reduce CO2 and emissions as well as our use of natural resources.

"But we are also clear that sustainability can only be achieved by private and public sector partnerships, which is why the AWM's new Low Carbon Vehicle Technology programme is such good news."

The portion of the AWM funding coming direct to Jaguar Land Rover will fund technical specialists participating in the two year project, while a number of the other partners will undertake research and development that will benefit Jaguar Land Rover.

With Governments from many other countries investing heavily in low carbon vehicles, increased backing for UK industry and expertise is essential. The funding from AWM is a step towards the Midlands – and the UK – being globally competitive for investment in automotive research and development