Jaguar Land Rover opens new Chinese factory in bid to expand
Jaguar Land Rover opened its first overseas factory yesterday, with the inauguration of the Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company plant in Changshu, just north of Shanghai.
The Range Rover Evoque will be the first model built at the plant, which was created through a 10.9bn renminbi (£1.1bn) joint investment plan with Chinese company Chery Automobile.
Jaguar Land Rover said the facility was expected to be building three of its models with total production capacity of 130,000 units a year by 2016.
In the last fiscal year, Jaguar Land Rover sold more than 100,000 vehicles in China, making it the company’s single largest market.
Ralf Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, said opening the new factory was “an important milestone” for the firm. He added: “Our decision to manufacture the Range Rover Evoque in Changshu is a result of our commitment to bringing more Chinese vehicles to Chinese customers.”