Jaguar Land Rover places supplier contracts worth Rs 23,564 crore for Jaguar F-Type

Castle Bromwich, United Kingdom, May 10, 2013: The Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), whose first Jaguar F-Type customer cars left the Castle Bromwich manufacturing facility yesterday, has placed component supplier contracts worth £2.8 billion (Rs 23,564 crore) with vendors worldwide. Of this, contracts worth over of £1.5 billion (Rs 12,624 crore) have been awarded to companies in the UK.

Following the completion of a global tendering exercise on component sourcing for the vehicle, contracts have been awarded to more than 270 companies globally. Of these, 116 are based in the UK and 50 percent are from the Midlands.

JLR has created almost 9,000 new jobs in the UK over the last two years, including 2,000 new engineers and 350 to directly support the new F-Type. Ian Harnett, purchasing director, said: “As one of the leading investors in automotive research and development in the UK, Jaguar Land Rover generates several billion pounds of economic activity here every year. We are working with world-class suppliers to strengthen the UK automotive supply base and support our ambitious plans for growth in the future.”

With sales in over 170 countries, Jaguar Land Rover generates export revenues approaching £11 billion (Rs 92,576 crore) each year, making it one of the UK’s largest exporters by value. It anticipates that it will export over 75 percent of F-Type vehicles produced. The USA is expected to be the largest market with almost half of all sales, closely followed by the UK and Germany. JLR has invested significantly in its Castle Bromwich manufacturing facility to create the fastest and most advanced Jaguar sports car production line for the F-Type. The car’s production has been incorporated into the manufacturing operation at Castle Bromwich to maximise capacity, technology and skills at the plant. The manufacturer has utilised and enhanced the manufacturing techniques and technologies employed for Jaguar XK production, while introducing new equipment and processes specifically required for the F-Type. The all-aluminium construction of the F-Type is carried out in Castle Bromwich’s 14,000 square metre body shop which employs manufacturing techniques adapted from the aerospace industry.

Photograph: Destined for customers around the world, new Jaguar F-Type vehicles were loaded onto a train at the company’s onsite rail facility at Castle Bromwich on May 9.