Jaguar Land Rover has opened its new manufacturing facility and Education Business Partnership Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new facility that has been built at a cost of R$750m (£240m) is the first wholly owned manufacturing plant for JLR outside the United Kingdom.
The plant is part of Jaguar Land Rover’s global expansion strategy. The Brazil plant follows the opening of its Chinese joint venture factory in 2014.Setting up new international factories will allow the company to offer new models to customers, protect against currency fluctuations and create a globally competitive business.
Jaguar Land Rover will build the Range Rover Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport at the Brazil facility. The locally made models will go on sale across dealers in Brazil this month.
The Brazil plant includes Jaguar Land Rover’s first overseas Education Business Partnership Centre which will provide a range of classroom activities for up to 12,000 local children each year. These will help them to develop key skills, work awareness and inspire them to pursue careers at Jaguar Land Rover.
At the plant inauguration, Wolfgang Stadler, Executive Director, Manufacturing, said: “The opening of Jaguar Land Rover’s new world-class facility in Brazil marks the latest exciting milestone in our global expansion.”
“Land Rover is already Brazil’s market-leader for mid-sized premium SUVs, accounting for more than 30% of all sales in that segment. The Range Rover Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport will now be manufactured for the first time in Latin America, building on their existing popularity with customers in Brazil.”
He added, “We are proud of the strong links that we have established with thecommunities close to our existing plants and the same is true here in Brazil. Our EducationBusiness Partnership Centre is just one step we are taking to deliver exciting educationalprogrammes to local children of all ages. Our ambition is to encourage them to consider a career in the automotive industry in the future.”
