JLR opens £500-million engine plant in the UK.

Eighteen years after it produced its last in-house engine, Jaguar Land Rover opened its first engine manufacturing plant, under Tata ownership, recently. The £500-million project will help increase the automaker's competitiveness, giving it more flexibility to respond to market needs and future technologies.

The new engine manufacturing centre, near the central English city of Wolverhampton, was opened by Queen Elizabeth II recently at a high-profile event attended by Ratan Tata and the Queen's husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, politicians and the plant’s 300 current employees.

'It's a very significant step in our global growth,' said Mike Wright, Executive Director at JLR, in a round-table discussion ahead of the launch. Producing the light-weight efficient engines presents the company with the opportunity to attract a whole new series of customers. 'For the first time we have strategic control of the design and engineering and manufacture of engines. And for any automotive player, that is a very important strategic step.'



HBL