Jaguar Land Rover has opened its new engine manufacturing centre, which will be used to manufacture the firm's efficient range of Ingenium engines. Those engines will first see action in Jaguar's BMW 3-series rival, the XE, as well as the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

It is understood the engines will eventually be used to power a whole range of JLR models.

Speaking at the opening of the new site, which was also attended by the Queen, Jaguar Land Rover boss Dr. Ralf Speth said: "The engine manufacturing centre represents all that is great about British engineering."

Located near Wolverhampton, the site will be home to 1400 dedicated staff who will help to build JLR's range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. The firm says an extra 5500 jobs will be created in the wider automotive supply chain.

First announced in 2011, the new centre has cost £500 million (about Rs 4,950 crore) to build. A total of 150 machines will work across three production lines to produce the Ingenium engine range.

The investment in its new engine family is significant for JLR. Ingenium engines are claimed to weigh up to 80kg less than the firm's current offerings, while offering improved performance and reducing CO2 emissions. All engines in the range have a fixed cylinder size of 500cc.

The first engine to go into production at the site will be a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel which will be fitted into the XE.