JLR to create 700 new UK jobs 05 | 03 | 2013

JAGUAR LAND ROVER is to double the size of its unfinished engine plant in the West Midlands. The new £150 million investment will create an additional 700 jobs.

Today's announcement at the Geneva Motor Show is another step towards the car manufacturer raising the eventual number of jobs on the i54 business park on the Staffordshire-Wolverhampton border to more than 1400.

JLR — which also reported a 30% increase in global sales last year, selling 357,773 vehicles to 177 different countries — forecast the first engines to come off the new production line will be in 2015.

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When JLR announced its plans initially in 2011, they were based around a £355m investment delivering almost 750 jobs. Today it confirmed total investment at the i54 site would now be more than £500m.

The company also revealed it will spend £2.75 billion on further product development. And Mike Wright, executive director, said i54 was a major part of the company's long term plans.

"Since the original announcement was made in 2011, we've been able to look at our plans, look at potential for our products around the world and as a result of that analysis we've decided to put even more capacity into the engine manufacturing centre, invest more money and create more jobs," he said.

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Jim McGill