JLR's cutting-edge UK innovation factory to be ready by 2017

Around two years before it is slated to open, construction work has begun on the new National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) at the University of Warwick. 

Yesterday, Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of the Tata Group, Cyrus Mistry, chairman of the Tata Group, and Jaguar Land Rover CEO Dr Ralf Speth joined Professor Lord Bhattacharyya, chairman and founder of Warwick Manufacturing Group to unveil the foundation stone for the new facility. NAIC is a partnership between the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG),  Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors European Technical Centre (TMETC) and UK Government’s Higher Education Funding Council England (HEFCE)

The ceremony marked the formal launch of the construction phase for the £150 million (Rs 1,476 crore) project which will create a new, cutting-edge UK automotive technology, innovation and education centre. The 33,000 square metre facility, which is due to open in mid-2017, will become the hub for Jaguar Land Rover’s advanced research and will boast cutting-edge workshops, laboratories, virtual engineering suites and advanced powertrain facilities, equipped to enable a full range of design, visualisation and prototyping activities.

The development of the NAIC project is the next stage in Jaguar Land Rover's strategy to develop its global R&D and engineering capability. Jaguar Land Rover today employs more than 8,000 engineers and designers in the UK and is investing more than ever before in new technologies, skills and facilities. In the financial year 2015/16 the business will invest up to £3.8 billion (Rs 37,403 crore) in product creation.

Dr Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover’s CEO, said: “The National Automotive Innovation Centre will serve as a generator of new skills and new thinking, providing a perfect, collaborative environment in which to learn, research and develop the designs and technologies that will shape the vehicles and personal mobility solutions of the future.

“As well as helping Jaguar Land Rover create key technologies that will deliver new experiences for our customers; smarter, safer and more connected cars and a low-carbon future, the centre will deliver wider benefits to the UK automotive industry. The NAIC will have a significant role inspiring the engineers of tomorrow and will help develop the skills we need the UK to nurture and develop to ensure we remain globally competitive.”

Along with hosting visits from schoolchildren to inspire them to begin a STEM-based career, the NAIC will also start to address the shortage of skilled R&D staff in the automotive supply chain. The aim is to help create a pipeline of people into companies nationwide, including the creation of many apprentices in specific areas of vehicle technology.

“The NAIC builds on the success we have enjoyed as part of our long-standing relationship with WMG at the University of Warwick. This collaboration is our blueprint for how we expand our capabilities when the NAIC opens its doors,” added Dr Speth. “I am delighted that we are now less than two years from realising the long-term strategic vision shared by Mr Ratan Tata and Professor Lord Bhattacharyya for a national hub for automotive innovation and skills.

“Their support and investment in the development of an innovation infrastructure here in the UK will help this country – and Jaguar Land Rover – remain at the forefront of global innovation in manufacturing and engineering for decades to come.”

Cyrus Mistry, chairman of the Tata Group, said: "This unique resource will provide state-of-the-art engineering and technology labs that will greatly enhance the ability of academia and industry to work side by side on leading edge research to deliver exciting new innovative products and meet the widely held ambition to deliver automotive technology and products that will be smarter, lighter, and greener. The Tata group shares these objectives to achieve greater sustainability, and is delighted to support their realisation.”

When the centre opens in 2017, 1,000 highly-skilled people will work at the NAIC. The NAIC will enable Jaguar Land Rover to co-locate 600 of its engineers, researchers and technologists to work collaboratively with academics and R&D specialists from across the automotive supply chain.  Details of the specific research projects that will take place in the NAIC will be announced in due course, but these will be long-term, multi-disciplinary challenges – such as electrification, smart and connected cars and the Human Machine Interface.

The development of the new NAIC facility will complement Jaguar Land Rover’s product research and development centres in Gaydon and Whitley. While the NAIC will become the hub for our advanced research teams, Gaydon and Whitley will continue to be Jaguar Land Rover’s centres of excellence for engineering and product development.