It appears that Jaguar Land Rover is planning a big UK investment, more specifically, in advanced car manufacturing in the UK.
Jaguar Land Rover belonged to Ford until 2008, when the Indian parent company bought them. The deal was brokered by Ralf Speith, a close friend of Jaguar Land Rover CEO and Tata Group’s Chairman, Ratan Tata.
Despite rumors that the Tata Group was planning on selling the luxury car brand, BBC was able to come by some interesting information from the government officials, as well as company representatives. It appears that the Indian company is ready for the next big investment in the UK.
This is great news for the UK car industry because, as we all know, it has recently gone through some unfortunate developments.
The Sales Of UK-Made Cars and the Latest Trends
The UK car industry has seen its fair share of bad news in the last few months. First, Nissan announced that they were going to be pulling out from their initial plans to build the Nissan X-Trail in Sunderland. Soon after that, Honda came out with a devastating announcement that they were closing their Swindon plant in 2021.
Then, in January 2019, Jaguar Land Rover revealed its plans on cutting 4,500 jobs over the course of two years. The main reason, as they said, was the decline in the popularity of diesel engines.
Sadly, 90% of their cars run on diesel engines. At the same time, the sales in China, Jaguar Land Rover’s most profitable market, are plummeting. They were even forced to let some people go.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturer and Traders (SMMT) report, the sales of cars made in the UK are significantly lower compared to those during the same month last year.
In fact, sales fell by 72%. However, there are some indications that the Chinese car market is recovering. And, Jaguar Land Rover is doing everything in its power to step up their game in China and make better connections with car dealer networks in this country.
The Death of a Pioneer In UK Car Manufacturing
It appears that all the bad news closely followed the death of Lord Kumar Bhattacharya, an Indian born industrialist who founded the Warwick Manufacturing Group in 1980. Located near Warwick University, this group’s advanced engineering facilities contributed a lot to the UK car manufacturing industry.
The major players in the UK automotive industry have set plans in motion to pay tribute to Lord Kumar and his legacy as a pioneer in this industry.
While some of Jaguar Land Rover’s electric vehicle production is currently done in Slovakia, the UK government hopes that this country will be able to push through the crisis and that the new investment will help the UK consolidate their car industry and remain a major player in electric vehicle production.
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