JLR has invested £1bn in the new version of its top-selling Evoque
Jaguar Land Rover's £1 billion investment in its new Range Rover Evoque means good news for thousands of car industry workers in the West Midlands.
The unveiling of the new car in London assures the future of around 4,000 workers who make the Evoque at JLR's factory in Halewood.
But thousands more work for the supplier companies across the West Midlands making the panels, seats and hundreds of other components used in the new vehicle. That includes the 1,800 people working at the JLR factory on Wolverhampton's i54 site making Ingenium engines.
The launch of the original Evoque in 2010 marked the transformation of Jaguar Land Rover after decades in the doldrums. One of JLR's biggest sales successes, 44 per cent of its parts come from the UK, and 348 suppliers deliver five million parts into Halewood every week.
And that is set to continue with the new car. Companies across the region, including the new Gestampt WM factory at Four Ashes, are already geared up to supply parts for the new Evoque,
Designed, engineered and made in Britain, the next generation of the compact luxury SUV has made its world debut in London following a £1bn investment to support its production.
Priced from £31,600 in the UK, the new vehicle has been hailed by JLR as 'a technology revolution' build with an entirely new vehicle architecture so it can use petrol, diesel or hybrid electric engines. It will be electrified with a 48 volt mild hybrid system from launch, followed 12 months later by a version using a three cylinder plug-in hybrid engine.
Ralf Speth, JLR's chief executive, said: “The Range Rover Evoque has been a fundamental driver in Jaguar Land Rover’s global success. Since it first rolled off the Halewood production line, we have exported 80 per cent of all we have made.
“Our commitment to UK production remains firm and the new Evoque benefits from a £1bn investment. With this, we are introducing new technology and Range Rover refinement into the luxury compact SUV segment that the original model created.”
More than £4bn contracts have been placed with UK companies to support production of the new Evoque, whcih the company says is "testament to Jaguar Land Rover’s continued confidence in the competitiveness of its domestic suppliers".
As well as investing in the latest technology for the car, JLR has installed a new stamping line and hybrid-electric assembly technology alongside other improvements at Halewood.
Among a host of hi-tech kit, the car is equipped with ClearSight Ground View – cameras fitted to the front grille and on the door mirrors project a feed onto the central touchscreen to show what is ahead of and underneath the front of the vehicle with a virtual 180-degree view.
ClearSight Rear View sees a 'smart' rear-view mirror transforms into a high-definition screen at the touch of a button, by displaying a rear-facing camera feed onto the mirror, providing a wider 50-degree field of vision using a camera positioned above the rear window. This technology also delivers clearer visibility in low light conditions.
Order books for the new Range Rover Evoque are now open with the first deliveries to customers in UK, Europe and USA beginning in the first months of next year.
