---

Land Rover Announces $190M Manufacturing Investment In U.K. Plant

28 September 2000

Land Rover Group Limited Announces $190 Million Manufacturing Investment In U.K. Plant

    Investment Will Prepare Solihull, U.K. Facility For Production Volume
             Increases That Include U.S.-Specification Freelander

    LANHAM, Md., Sept. 27 Future buyers of Land Rover vehicles
will benefit from a major capital investment that has been allotted to the
company's U.K. manufacturing site.  Howard Mosher, president and CEO of Land
Rover North America, Inc. today welcomed the announcement that Land Rover will
invest #130 million -- approximately $190 million -- in its Solihull, U.K.-
based Land Rover manufacturing facility.  The money will be spent between July
1, 2000 and December 31, 2001, a period that represents the first 18 months of
Ford Motor Company's ownership of Land Rover.  Bob Dover, chairman and chief
executive of Land Rover, disclosed the commitment at the international press
launch of the V6-equipped Freelander, a small Land Rover sport-utility vehicle
that will arrive on U.S. shores in late 2001.
    The spending package will buy a new press shop and assembly line for
future products that will be produced at Land Rover's Solihull plant.  Some of
the investment will also go toward improving the efficiency of the plant's
existing facilities.  All of the improvements will serve to increase product
quality and worker productivity at the 11,000-worker site in anticipation of
an array of future products that includes the U.S.-specification Freelander.
    The board of directors allocated the money in preparation for the dramatic
increase in Land Rover's unit production volumes that is scheduled to take
place over the next several years.  Land Rover produced over 178,000 vehicles
for sale worldwide in 1999 and the company's annual production capacity is
expected to increase to nearly 300,000 vehicles by 2005.  Accounting for a
portion of this volume increase is production of the U.S.-specification
Freelander.
    Land Rover North America, Inc. expects Freelander to become the U.S.
market's best selling Land Rover.  Freelander will be priced under $30,000,
making it the most affordable Land Rover available in the U.S.  The vehicle
will help boost Land Rover's U.S. sales volume to about 50,000 units in 2002,
an increase of more than 50 percent over the expected sales total for calendar
year 2000.  (The year 2002 is the first full year that Freelander will be sold
in the U.S.)
    Mr. Mosher said, "We're very excited about this investment.  Not only will
it improve the overall production quality of Land Rover vehicles, it will also
help to ensure the success of Freelander in the U.S. market."  Since its
introduction in Europe in 1997, Freelander has become Europe's best selling
four-wheel-drive vehicle.