JLR-Chery Auto JV to set up factory in China

Tata motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover and Chery Automobile are setting up a new manufacturing facility in China in a joint venture (JV) as part of a 10.9-billion-renminbi investment plan.

“Jaguar Land Rover and Chery will now accelerate plans to build a joint venture manufacturing plant in Changshu, near Shanghai, as part of a 10.9-billion renminbi investment that will also include a new research and development centre and engine production facility,” a Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) statement said.

JLR and Chery Automobile today formally laid the foundation stone for their new manufacturing facility in China, it added.

The project includes the creation of a new partnership brand to assemble models tailored specifically for the Chinese market, including the marketing and distribution, it added.

“The two companies plan to complete the Changshu facility in Jiangsu province during 2014,” it said.

The equal partnership will be called Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company.

In a joint statement, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Executive Officer Ralf Speth and Chery Automobile Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Yin Tongyao said, “...We will now begin working in close collaboration on our partnership plans to harness the capabilities of our respective companies, to produce relevant, advanced models for Chinese consumers.”

Chery Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Company will also produce models for a domestic brand tailored specifically to local customer demand, the statement added.

The sales of Jaguar and Land Rover brands in China rose 80 per cent in the first 10 months of 2012. In the 2011 calendar year, Jaguar Land Rover saw sales increase more than 60 per cent, driven mainly by the Jaguar XJ and XF models, and strong demand for the fuel-efficient Range Rover Evoque.

Chery Automobile is the largest Chinese car exporter and one of the country’s most productive automotive manufacturers.