Tata flags off new R&D centre for Jaguar Land Rover in UK

Work on 100-million pound campus is scheduled to begin in Sep 2014

Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today announced a multi-million-pound investment in research and development in the UK that will be focused on a state-of-the-art centre at the University of Warwick campus.

Work on the 100-million pound National Automotive Innovation Campus (NAIC), designed as a cutting-edge technology, innovation and education facility, is scheduled to begin in September 2014.

JLR, with an investment of 50 million pounds, is the lead partner in the project along with Tata Motors European Technical Centre, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and the UK government's Higher Education Funding Council England.

"Investing in collaboration, innovation, research and education is vital if we want to be on a par with our international competitors," Wolfgang Epple, JLR's director of research and technology, said at a launch event at University of Warwick.

"Our future sales success, the success of our global business - and the UK economy - lies in the engineering and innovation that will take place in NAIC."

NAIC will become a centre of training to help ensure there are enough young people wanting to develop a career in engineering and manufacturing, he said. It will also play a key role in nurturing the next generation of engineers and technologists, Epple added.