Jaguar Land Rover is opening an engine plant in China, its first outside of the UK as the premium carmaker ramps up its international expansion. It will provide petrol engines for its local assembly site. JLR has a joint venture in China with Chery Automotive, through which it runs a car plant that has made 100,000 vehicles since opening three years ago. The engine facility, which is on the same site, will cut costs of shipping engines, which were shipped from the UK. Although JLR has car plants in India, Brazil and China, as well as one under construction in Slovakia, the Chinese site will be the first engine facility outside of the UK. The move also reduces the reliance of JLR’s Chinese business on British parts at a time when Britain’s trading relationship with the rest of the world is unknown amid negotiations about withdrawing from the EU. China is the world’s largest car market, and is highly profitable for international carmakers because of the prices they can charge for their vehicles amid the rising affluence of the car-buying population. Last year JLR’s Chinese sales rose 31 per cent to 119,000 cars out of 583,000 globally. All international carmakers operating in China have to form a joint venture with a local partner. JLR produces the Range Rover Evoque, the Land Rover Discovery Sport and the XFL stretch saloon for the Chinese market at its site in Changshu, which is about 100 miles outside Shanghai. Qing Pan, executive director of Jaguar Land Rover Chery, said: “China continues to be an important market for Jaguar Land Rover. Our sales have increased by 26 per cent during the first half of the year, driven by our discerning Chinese customers’ desire for new, exciting vehicles. “Our new engine plant in Changshu supports our strategy to become a more competitive global business. It will strengthen our international manufacturing capabilities and complement our existing facilities in the UK.” The engine facility has a capacity of 130,000 units a year, and will only make engines to be used in the Chinese market.
—-Financial Times
