Following Honda’s announcement of job cuts after a drop in European sales there may have been worries of a decline in car manufacturing in the UK.
Fortunately, it appears that not all companies choosing to base major manufacturing hubs in Britain have suffered the same drop in sales as the Japanese giant.
Business Secretary Vince Cable visits Jaguar Land Rover
In fact, Jaguar Land Rover has announced a further boost in employment thanks to a year of record global sales.
Around 800 jobs will be created at the firm’s Solihull plant in the West Midlands, supported by further investment on top of the £370 million Jaguar Land Rover have already channelled into the factory.
200 of these jobs will be supported by the Government’s regional growth fund, which recently awarded the popular manufacturer £80 million in thanks for the high number of jobs it has created in the past few years.
Business Secretary Vince Cable was keen to make his support of Jaguar Land Rover’s latest announcement clear, especially after last week’s announcement from Honda prompting questions as to how the Government plans to create sustainable jobs for skilled workers in future.
He said; “The company’s investment of £2 billion this year and 8,000 new jobs over the last two years shows how Jaguar Land Rover goes from strength to strength.
“With support from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, it is a clear demonstration of where the Government working in partnership with the private sector can make a real difference to the UK economy.”
Yet it is not only the UK jobs market which will benefit from Jaguar Land Rover’s success, as plans to create a production line in China for the first time in the firm’s history have now been approved.
This will be in the form of a joint venture with Chinese business Chery, and will channel around £1 billion into the Chinese manufacturing industry.
The main reason for this turnaround in policy is due to the fact that China is now Jaguar Land Rover’s largest market after vehicle sales rose in the Asian country by 70 per cent in 2012.
Chinese sales played a large part in the brand’s success during the past year, with the 70 per cent growth contributing to a 30 per cent sales rise internationally.
Altogether, 357 773 vehicles were sold worldwide, with the five most successful markets being in China, the UK, the United States of America, Russia and even Eurozone Crisis-hit Italy.
Phil Popham, sales director for Jaguar Land Rover, said; “All of our key markets saw strong progress, with demand for our premium vehicles setting new records.”
All in all, these figures point to a very bright future for the brand’s manufacturing plant in Solihull which is already in the process of creating 800 additional jobs. The Solihull plant will also be responsible for the creation of many new Range Rover models this year, which have already been tipped for the top and could even lead to further expansion of the West Midlands production line.
Tony Burke, assistant general secretary for Unite, welcomed the creation of new employment for skilled workers – especially as it has taken the sting out of Honda’s cutbacks somewhat.
He said; “Although the contracts are for one year, we hope that we can convert them into well paid, permanent jobs in the future. The Evoque is a very successful export leader so there is no reason why that can’t happen in the future.
“The workforce at Solihull is highly skilled and has made a massive contribution to the success of the company here in the UK.”
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