JLR targets UK EV production
Jaguar Land Rover plans to build its new electric cars in the west Midlands.
The car manufacturer unveiled its first electric vehicle (EV) at the Los Angeles Motor Show earlier this month and announced development will take place in Austria.
However, JLR chief executive Ralf Speth says the company wants eventually to manufacture the EVs in its Midlands heartland. JLR produced nearly a third of the 1.6 million cars developed in the UK last year; adding its EV production would be a further boon for post-Brexit Britain.
Speaking at an industry event last week, Ralf Speth said, ‘We want to build our EVs (electric vehicles) in the West Midlands, in the home of our design and engineering.’
Last week Britain announced an extra £390m of funding to support autonomous and green technologies.
Jaguar Land Rover said it would not comment on when electric cars would be built in Britain or on potential job creation, but has said it wants half its cars to be available in an electric version by the end of the decade.
