Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed that it is to start building cars in Graz, Austria, in collaboration with Magna International.
Over the last few years, manufacturing for JLR has been heavily UK focused, with its Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood factories being massive pools of investment for the brand.
JLR is no stranger to overseas production and has recently opened a new plant in China, with another factory currently in the works in Brazil. With operations reaching capacity at these factories, JLR is partaking in a necessary expansion to Austria.
Although this new commitment is huge, JLR insists that it will not pull focus from the importance of its UK-based plants. Commenting on the new Austria plant and the significance of its new partnership with Magna International, JLR’s Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ralf Speth said: "The UK remains at the centre of our design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Partnerships such as this will complement our UK operations and engineering.
“This agreement will allow us to expand our award-winning model range as customers around the world demand ever-more innovative vehicles from Jaguar Land Rover."
In terms of model production, the new Jaguar F-Pace SUV – set to be the smallest SUV in Jag’s range – will grace the production line of Solihull.
JLR has said that it will spend £3.6 billion over the next year on “new vehicle creation and capital expenditure”, promising the launch of 12 new and refreshed vehicles.