By Lucy Caulkett-
The first UK-made Jaguar electric car is to be a £100,000 four-door grand tourer, the vehicle’s manufacturer has announced.
The UK’s largest carmaker said its first British car will come in the form o in the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Solihull plant in the West Midlands and will be available in selected markets next year.
JLR, an employer of 36,000 workers said the £15bn would be spread over its “industrial footprint, vehicle programmes, autonomous, AI and digital technologies and people skills”, although did not set out how the money would be split.
JLR is the sole mass-market carmaker headquartered in Britain, and only Japan’s Nissan made more cars in UK factories in 2022
Knowsley Council described the announcement as a “major coup” for the local workforce and showed how important the site was.
JLR Chief Executive Adrian Mardell said: “I am proud to announce we are accelerating our electrification path, making one of our UK plants and our next-generation medium-size luxury SUV architecture fully electric.
“This investment enables us to deliver our modern luxury electric future, developing new skills, and reaffirming our commitment to be net zero carbon by 2039.”
Knowsley Council said it was “delighted” that 3,700 people who work at Halewood would be “spearheading” the move into all-electric production with the site “at the very heart of the company’s future plans”.
The investment is the organisation’s pursuit of luxury rivals, such as BMW and Mercedes, which already have a range of electric vehicles on the market.
In an effort to facilitate its electric car production, JLR’s owner, Indian multinational conglomerate Tata, had asked the government for millions in support to build a gigafactory to make car batteries.
The location of the factory is yet to be determined, posing big questions for the Uk car industry.
“This is unfinished business,” JLR boss Adrian Mardell said. “Jaguar is going to be reborn.”
At an event on Wednesday to announce the plans, the JLR chief executive was firm that his company would be an anchor customer of the factory but would not be building a gigafactory itself.
“That is not within our plans,” Adrian Mardell told reporters.
“Tata will be building a gigafactory. We are clear it’s going to be in Europe. A final destination hasn’t yet been chosen.”
Spain is a rival option to the UK for the battery plant and a decision on the project is said to be imminent, though it would take at least four years for the factory to be up and running.