JLR will build Range Rover Evoque in Changshu
The Range Rover Evoque will be the first model built at Jaguar Land Rover's new China factory, company CEO Ralf Speth said.
"We are starting with the vehicle with the highest demand (in China)," Speth told journalists at a press event in London.
Jaguar Land Rover may add production of its new Land Rover Discovery Sport at a later date, he said. "We are starting with one vehicle at first. We have to train our employees and bring them up to speed," Speth said.
The factory in Changshu, northeast of Shanghai, will officially open in October with production starting shortly after. Jaguar Land Rover's joint venture with China's Chery Automobile will run the plant.
It is the automaker's first full-scale assembly plant outside the United Kingdom and includes an engine plant that will start production in 2015. That plant will produce the automaker's new range of Ingenium four-cylinder engines.
China is a fast-growing market for Jaguar Land Rover. In the first six months, the automaker sold 62,479 vehicles in China, out of a global volume of 240,372.
The plant also will build vehicles to be sold under a new joint-venture brand, which was a condition of the Chinese government's approval of the factory.
Asked whether Jaguar Land Rover will build a long-wheelbase version of the new Jaguar XE midsize sedan in China, Speth replied: "If we do a longer version, then we have to produce the vehicle in China; otherwise it doesn't make sense."
Last year, Bernstein analyst Max Warburton wrote that the automaker targets sales of 150,000 cars in China in 2015. He estimated the firm currently makes half of its global profits in China, thanks to strong demand for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
Last year, Jaguar Land Rover made a profit before taxes of 2.5 billion pounds (24.9 billion yuan).
Jaguar Land Rover currently builds cars from kits in India, and the company also has announced plans to build a plant in Brazil with production scheduled for 2016. Speth said the company was in talks to build a plant in Saudi Arabia.
Jaguar Land Rover may add production of its new Land Rover Discovery Sport at a later date, he said. "We are starting with one vehicle at first. We have to train our employees and bring them up to speed," Speth said.
The factory in Changshu, northeast of Shanghai, will officially open in October with production starting shortly after. Jaguar Land Rover's joint venture with China's Chery Automobile will run the plant.
It is the automaker's first full-scale assembly plant outside the United Kingdom and includes an engine plant that will start production in 2015. That plant will produce the automaker's new range of Ingenium four-cylinder engines.
China is a fast-growing market for Jaguar Land Rover. In the first six months, the automaker sold 62,479 vehicles in China, out of a global volume of 240,372.
The plant also will build vehicles to be sold under a new joint-venture brand, which was a condition of the Chinese government's approval of the factory.
Asked whether Jaguar Land Rover will build a long-wheelbase version of the new Jaguar XE midsize sedan in China, Speth replied: "If we do a longer version, then we have to produce the vehicle in China; otherwise it doesn't make sense."
Last year, Bernstein analyst Max Warburton wrote that the automaker targets sales of 150,000 cars in China in 2015. He estimated the firm currently makes half of its global profits in China, thanks to strong demand for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.
Last year, Jaguar Land Rover made a profit before taxes of 2.5 billion pounds (24.9 billion yuan).
Jaguar Land Rover currently builds cars from kits in India, and the company also has announced plans to build a plant in Brazil with production scheduled for 2016. Speth said the company was in talks to build a plant in Saudi Arabia.
