Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed it is establishing its high-performance and luxury vehicle operation at a Warwickshire site which once housed a Peugeot car plant.
The Prologis owned site at Ryton is not far from JLR’s existing Coventry manufacturing base. Spending at least £20m installing specialist equipment and creating a customer commissioning suite, the car maker says it is planning to open its new 225,00sq ft hub by the end of this year.
Employing 150 specialist engineers and technicians — at least two-thirds newly recruited — the Special Vehicle Operations Technical Centre will also boast Formula 1-inspired flexible workshops and a state-of-the-art paint studio.
Production will be dedicated to the high-end bespoke market including the Project 7 F-Type, a series of new lightweight Jaguar E-Types and the Range Rover Sport SVR, the most powerful Land Rover production vehicle. The Ryton facility is close to the new Jaguar Heritage workshop at Browns Lane, Coventry, where the lightweight E-Types are being produced.
John Edwards is a senior managing director at JLR. “We are very excited by the capability and potential that this new facility will give us,” he said. “We will be creating truly iconic vehicles that reinforce the global reputation of both Jaguar and Land Rover brands as we expand our product portfolio and fulfil our ambitious plans.”
JLR’s new building was a speculative build by Prologis and will be sited close to UK Mail’s new distribution hub. The logistics company was forced to relocate from Birmingham after its long-term base was compulsorily purchased to make way for the new HS2 high speed rail line.
“We are delighted that Jaguar Land Rover has chosen to establish its special vehicles operations technical centre at Ryton,” commented Prologis UK managing director, Andrew Griffiths. “As a company we are investing in our prime sites to create the best opportunities in the market for our customers, and we are pleased that the speculative building meets JLR’s requirements.”
The first Project 7 car is slated to to roll out of the new Ryton production hub in January with just 250 models being made available worldwide. Each F-Type Project 7 will start life at the company’s plant in Castle Bromwich, before being transferred to the Special Vehicle Operations Technical Centre to complete the build by hand,” explained John Edwards, a former brand director at Land Rover chosen to run the new centre.
Also coming under the Special Operations division will be a growing range of luxury goods, and licensed products such as the recently announced range of Land Rover Barbour products. “We are focused on enhancing and personalising our relationship with our most discerning and enthusiastic customers, delivering experiences our customers will love for life,”
Another resource his plant will offer is servicing and restoration to owners of heritage Jaguars and Land Rovers, in partnership with a workshop already being used at Jaguar’s spiritual home at Browns Lane.
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