The new facility will be producing the new Ingenium family of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines that will power a range of upcoming models starting with the new Jaguar XE sedan.
Jaguar Land Rover inaugurated its new engine manufacturing facility located near Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, in the UK. All set to produce the company’s new Ingenium family of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, the new facility represents Jaguar’s strategic investment program creating 1400 new jobs and has been built with an investment of $800 million. Spread across 1,00,000 sq. mt., the new facility incorporates an engine testing centre as well as space for manufacturing and assembly.
Set to commence operations early next year, the first engine to rollout from the new facility will be the new 2.0-litre 4-cylinder diesel motor that powers the Jaguar XE sedan. The company will continue to add production of its upcoming engine range at the facility that will power new and upcoming JLR vehicles. A total of 2000 powertrain engineers as well as new 1400 employees will work together at the facility in bringing out the new Ingenium engines.
In addition, the plant also has one of the largest rooftop solar panel installations in the UK that will generate over 30 percent of the facility’s energy requirement, which is equivalent to powering 1600 homes. The new facility also showcases Jaguar Land Rover’s front foot position in the global auto market, as the company has come back to manufacturing its own engines after a gap of 18 years.
JLR currently sources its engines from Peugeot-Citroen under the Ford joint venture and will continue the same for its other models. However, the advent of the new Ingenium engine family will certainly make the Tata owned luxury marquee more competitive and will help respond to market needs at the earliest in the near future. Interestingly, the new plant was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II, making it a very special occasion for the Tata Group.
