UK based manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced that the company is planning to invest 100 million pounds in a new facility in Saudi Arabia to produce 1,00,000 cars annually to meet the growing demand for the Middle East market. The British manufacturer is close to signing a deal with the Saudi government to build an assembly factory in the east province of the country. Saudi Arabia as a country provides abundant resources of aluminum and energy, a major reason why the brand was lured to commence operations in the country.
The proposed plant will initially produce the new version of the Land Rover Discovery and is expected to employ 4000 – 5000 staff eventually. This will be JLR’s third major foreign expansion plan after deals to open factories in Brazil and China. The Saudi government is also expected to invest in the plant as it seeks to develop its automotive industry. The company will initially begin assembling vehicles from components made in Britain and will later locally source parts from Saudi Arabia.
JLR’s existing plants in Midlands and Merseyside are running on full steam and the new 500 million pounds engine manufacturing plant in West Midlands will commence production next year. Jaguar also confirmed a 240 million pounds agreement last year to build a factory in Rio de Jeneiro, while a 1 billion pounds plant in China in a joint venture with Chinese car manufacturer Chery is also underway. JLR currently exports 85 percent of its output and sold a record number of 4,25,006 vehicles in 2013; 19 percent higher than the previous year.
The company has expanded to 38 markets globally with strong demand across all major markets. Sales for Jaguar cars increased by 42 percent to 76,668 cars last year, with most of the demand driven by the F-Type model; Land Rover on the other hand surged forward by 15 percent to 3,48,338 vehicles with the Range Rover Sport and the Evoque taking charge. The good times are rolling in for Tata Motors with the Indian manufacturer’s domestic and international operations coming on track as planned. The company already has setup its other businesses in Saudi Arabia and this will be their first major venture in the Middle Eastern market through JLR.
