The facility in Itatiaia, in the eastern State of Rio de Janeiro, will have a production capacity of 24,000 vehicles a year, all of which will be destined for Brazil only.
When the new factory opens in 2016, 400 jobs will be created initially and this is expected to almost double by the end of the decade. Nearly 1,000 jobs will also be created across the local supply chain.
JLR announced the facility in December 2013, and will start construction by the end of this year. The company will be the only British car maker to open a local manufacturing facility in Brazil, and this factory will be Jaguar Land Rover’s first wholly-owned manufacturing plant outside the United Kingdom (the new Chinese plant is a join venture with Chinese Company Chery Automobile). Total investment in the new factory will reach £240m (R$750m) by the end of 2020.
The company is also getting ready to launch its ‘Inspiring Tomorrow's Workforce’ programme as part of its CSR strategy in Brazil. This aims to help prepare unemployed members of the local community for work. It’s an idea that Jaguar Land Rover has already piloted in the UK with a number of unemployed gaining employment or an apprenticeship within the company and its wider supply chain.
Jaguar Land Rover has had a presence in the Brazilian market for more than 20 years. So far this year, Jaguar Land Rover has sold 7,346 vehicles in Brazil, with the strongest-selling models being the Range Rover Evoque, Range Rover Sport and Discovery. By March 2015 there will be 42 dealers across Brazil as part of the company's further expansion plans.
