Pune, May 28: Tata-owned carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) announced the opening of its first assembly plant in India on Friday.
Land Rover Freelander 2 vehicles supplied in Complete Knock Down (CKD) form from Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) Halewood manufacturing plant in Liverpool, UK will be assembled at the new facility.
“Clearly India can be a very attractive sourcing base, an opportunity to source more and more high quality, but lower cost components not only for India operations but for overseas operations,” chief executive officer and managing director of Tata Motors Carl-Peter Forster said.
The new factory for the once-troubled luxury brands is located near Pune in Maharashtra and is the company's first outside the UK.
Tata Motors bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford in 2008.
Tata has had trouble getting enough Jaguar Land Rover engines from Ford to meet demand, and India's car boom has strained suppliers, who are now investing to expand capacity.
Luxury carmakers have been expanding their operations in India, a country with soaring economic growth and a growing number of urban rich.
Auto market experts say the premium car market in India is set to grow rapidly in the next five years.
The UK auto maker is hoping the new facility in Pune will help it compete better with rival luxury vehicle brands like BMW, Daimler and Audi.
The new range of JLR vehicles available in India includes the Jaguar XJ, XF, and XK, the Land Rover Freelander 2, Discovery 4, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover. AP
