JLR are to build their own 4-pot engines and start production in China
Jaguar Land Rover are working towards building their own 4-cylinder engines in conjunction with parent Tata, and are setting up production in China.
If ever you want an example of a car company re-inventing itself you don’t have to look any further than Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) since Tata took control. It’s been not just a renaissance, but a seemingly complete change in ethos.
It’s as if Tata – almost by osmosis – has managed to imbue JLR with an intangible Asian essence of entrepreneurship. Gone is the reliance on history to justify dated products; no longer is there a laissez faire attitude to quality; no ‘Big Corporation’ mentality. Instead, there’s a desire in all you speak to at JLR to produce the best there is and be a real success. It’s like the entire company has a real vested interest in its success. What more can you ask?
Sales are up – hugely – right across the board, even at Jaguar which has been without a top-end saloon with the delays to the new XJ. But those delays – although frustrating – are a perfect example of the new Jaguar. The new XJ had a few problems, most recently with iPhone connection. The old Jaguar would have shoved the car out and worried about it later. The new Jaguar didn’t. They delayed the car until it was perfect.
And now JLR are about to take the next big step – creating their own engines and expanding production overseas. It is now clear that JLR and Tata are moving towards producing their own four-pot engines – diesel and petrol – to replace the 2.2 litre diesel currently seen in the Freelander 2 and to use in the Range Rover LRX, the next small Jaguar currently being considered, and perhaps even in the new Jaguar Roadster.
Also happening is overseas production. JLR are seeking a Chinese partner to start production in China, a necessity with growing sales in China and China’s huge import duties. China has already proved a bit of a life saver to JLR after a Chinese delegation bought 6,000 Land Rovers and 3,00 Jaguars for £430 million in the depths of JLR’s woes in February last year. So CKD kits to China to build up to 30,000 Land Rovers a year will create a bridgehead for the company in what is rapidly becoming the most important car market in the world.
So much right, and so little wrong. Who’d have thought it a few years ago?
Have your say - leave a comment