London: Tata Motors-owned luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is planning to set up a new plant to make about 200,000 cars annually in eastern Europe. Rumours have it that the company is zeroing in on Poland.
According to the ‘Sunday Times’, JLR executives have been weighing up bids from Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Turkey for the factory, which will make about 200,000 cars a year.
Senior industry sources told the newspaper that Poland had offered “huge” incentives.
Jaguar produced about 450,000 vehicles last year, but plans to expand to 1 million.
The huge expansion drive has seen its three British factories in Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood have been pushed to capacity.
The company opened a factory in China last year and another is under construction in Brazil.
A decision on Poland could be announced within weeks, although sources said Slovakia remained an outside possibility.
Local reports suggested the plant could be built in Krakow at a cost of about 1.2 billion pounds.
Next on the list is expected to be a factory in the US or Mexico.
The overseas drive reflects Jaguar’s desire to increase production while keeping a tight lid on costs, the newspaper said.
Poland offers a source of skilled but affordable labour, a ready-made supply chain and a government prepared to offer significant launch aid.
A JLR statement said “Jaguar Land Rover continues to evaluate opportunities around the world. Europe is just one of the places under consideration. No decisions have been taken”.
PTI