Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has opened its first overseas manufacturing facility, in China, from where it will roll out the Range Rover Evoque in 2015. The facility is the first Chinese-British automotive joint venture, with Chery Automobile Company. The Chinese market is JLR’s single biggest market.

The plant, built over two years, is located on almost 400,000 square metres in the Changshu Economic Development Zone north of Shanghai and is part of the a RMB 10.9 billion (Rs 10,910 crore) joint venture investment plan.

At the plant inauguration, Dr Ralf Speth, CEO, said: “Since its launch, one in five Range Rover Evoques have been sold in China. Our decision to manufacture the Range Rover Evoque in Changshu is a result of our commitment to bringing more Chinese vehicles to Chinese customers.”

By 2016, the facility is expected to be building three JLR models with total production capacity of 130,000 units a year. Those vehicles will be manufactured in automated press shops – including cutting-edge aluminium and steel technologies – along with a steel body shop comprising 306 robots, an energy-efficient paint shop and an ergonomically-friendly final assembly line. A new aluminium body shop, the first in China, is already under construction, at the Changshu facility, to support the introduction of new Jaguar products.

JLR has also made key investments in training more than 2,000 new people in health and safety standards, process systems and problem-solving, as well as the company’s quality-control processes and corporate culture.

The facility in the Jiangsu region is the centre piece of a joint venture investment that will include the establishment of JLR’s Greater China Research and Development Centre and engine manufacturing. Inaugural sales of the China-made Range Rover Evoque are due to begin in early 2015.

JLR first established a presence in China just over a decade ago. Once operational, output from the facility will include new derivatives and models designed for the Chinese market.

In the last fiscal year, the company sold more than 100,000 vehicles in China, making it the company’s single largest market.