Jaguar Land Rover boss says it wants to build electric cars in the UK

Jaguar Land Rover chief executive Ralf Speth also set out his “vision” to double the production output of the business.

But JLR said the ambition was “dependent on overcoming infrastructure and capacity issues”.

The company currently employs 40,000 people in the UK and the potential expansion set out by Dr Speth could add a reported 10,000 to the workforce.

Dr Speth told an industry meeting it wants to build electric vehicles in the West Midlands.

His comments came after the Government this week pledged £390m to fund greener technologies.

Any new production would come as a further boost to the car-making sector following the Brexit vote, after Japan’s Nissan said it would build two new models at its plant in Sunderland.

 

 

JLR said in a statement that Dr Speth had “confirmed his vision to double the production output of the business, make EVs (electric vehicles) in the UK and the desire to make the UK a global centre of excellence for battery research and development”.

It said it could not comment on job numbers or the timeframe.

JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, showcased its first electric car, the Jaguar I-PACE, at the Los Angeles motor show last week.

It has said it wants half its cars to be available in an electric version by the end of the decade.

The I-PACE car will be produced in Austria but Dr Speth’s remarks spell out the wish for some of JLR’s electric vehicle production to take place in the UK.

Last week, he told Sky News that JLR’s future in Britain could be jeopardised by a hard Brexit meaning additional tax and tariff barriers.

He said it would have to “see the facts” before deciding whether to continue manufacturing in the UK.

source: skynews