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Jaguar Land Rover eye Saudi Arabia production

Jaguar Land Rover have signalled their intent to build cars in Saudi Arabia, as they begin a feasibility study on manufacturing in the country.

Discussions between the company and the Saudi Government are said to be at a preliminary stage, as the study is launched with Saudi Arabia’s National Industrial Clusters Development Program (NICDP).

Chief executive, Dr Ralf Speth said any new facility would complement UK production. The move would mean JLR could capitalise on the Ras Al Khair aluminium facility, the world’s largest integrated aluminium complex which is a joint venture between Saudi Arabian Mining Company and Alcoa of the US.

A plant in Saudi Arabia would complement the firm’s first overseas production venture in China, which was secured recently with Chery Automobiles.

Dr Speth said: “We are committed to further international partnerships to meet record demand for our highly sought after vehicles.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an attractive potential development option, complementing our existing advanced facilities in Britain and recent manufacturing plans to expand in other countries including India and China.”

JLR have “pioneered” aluminium body development, using lightweight metals for their luxury models.

The company said issues such as investment, potential capacity and job creation were yet to be discussed in detail.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .