JLR confirms £500m Halewood factory spend
It's already spent £250m on a new EV production line; another £250m will be spent in years to come
JLR’s commitment to its Halewood factory is longstanding. It was talking about the first steps required to transition to EV production back in 2022; now it says it has spent 'one million hours’ in construction over the last 12 months at the site. This has delivered a 32-thousand-square-foot extension to the existing facility, which has been operating as a car factory since it was created to build the Ford Anglia back in 1963.
The object of all this investment - which has apparently cost £250m so far - is to prepare its production line for the new Electric Modular Architecture (or EMA) platform that will underpin an incoming lineup of medium-sized electric luxury SUVs. Officially, these remain unidentified, although it had previously been suggested that the next generation of Range Rover Velar would kick off production in 2025.
Of course, at that same point in time, JLR boldly predicted that Halewood would switch to making electric cars exclusively - a plan you won’t be surprised to hear is now very much on the back burner. Instead, after it confirmed last month that it would continue investing in combustion vehicles for longer than it originally intended, the manufacturer has committed to building ‘ICE, PHEV and BEV models side by side before eventually becoming JLR’s first all-electric production facility.’ Without committing to a firm date.
Completing that vision in the fullness of time will likely account for the additional £250m JLR has earmarked for Halewood - although it's fair to say that much has already been done, including the installation of ‘750 autonomous robots, ADAS calibration rigs, laser alignment technology for perfect part fitment and the latest cloud based digital plant management systems to oversee production, creating the ‘factory of the future’.’
According to the manufacturer, the length of the production line has been increased from 4km to 6km to account for the necessary battery fitment, and the build stations have been extended to seven metres ‘to facilitate the different proportions of the new EMA electric vehicles’ - which, when you consider that Halewood was mostly devoted to assembling the current Land Rover Discovery Sport, gives you some idea of the future scale JLR is talking about.
Elsewhere it has delivered High Voltage Training to over 1,600 employees and created a new body shop said to be capable of producing 500 vehicle bodies per day (and modified the paint shop to handle the ‘increased demand’ for contrasting roofs). It has plans to install 18,000 photovoltaic panels, too, which ought to satisfy 10 per cent of Halewood’s energy consumption. That still leaves it plenty to do before it achieves its target of becoming a carbon net zero firm by 2039 - but, as with many other things, JLR is keen to show that it’s heading in the right direction.
Given how many Range Rovers are being smuggled into Russia, that is unlikely.
If unions do not evolve they die.
Yes, it is progress because otherwise that factory would close rather than thrive.
Never mind - I think you just dont have anything positive to say about anything.
"Of course, at that same point in time, JLR boldly predicted that Halewood would switch to making electric cars exclusively - a plan you won’t be surprised to hear is now very much on the back burner. Instead, after it confirmed last month that it would continue investing in combustion vehicles for longer than it originally intended, the manufacturer has committed to building ‘ICE, PHEV and BEV models side by side before eventually becoming JLR’s first all-electric production facility.’ Without committing to a firm date."
"Of course, at that same point in time, JLR boldly predicted that Halewood would switch to making electric cars exclusively - a plan you won’t be surprised to hear is now very much on the back burner. Instead, after it confirmed last month that it would continue investing in combustion vehicles for longer than it originally intended, the manufacturer has committed to building ‘ICE, PHEV and BEV models side by side before eventually becoming JLR’s first all-electric production facility.’ Without committing to a firm date."
As a result there's a comical gap between production of the last ICE Jaaaaags and the promised wave of exciting new ones.
In the meantime, customers (like myself) have moved to other brands and given the issues we've had with our Jaguar iPace, most likely won't be back any time soon!
As a result there's a comical gap between production of the last ICE Jaaaaags and the promised wave of exciting new ones.
In the meantime, customers (like myself) have moved to other brands and given the issues we've had with our Jaguar iPace, most likely won't be back any time soon!
Two years ago everyone was having to say they were going all in on EVs way earlier than needed or they risked not being able to raise capital or inciting the wrath of shareholders and backers who demanded only EV things were spoken of. Today, that same money has shat the bed, shrunk in both size and voice and is now crying for the warm blanket of believing ICe will still be being sold for as long as possible.
JLR don't have to worry too much with the LR bit but the Jaguar business has had a torrid time lurching from pensioner wagon focus, then trying the fleet market, then finally being allowed to sell SUVs, the only shape premium buyers have wanted for over a decade. And all while an army of Reformists have demanded Jaguar rebuild the British Empire and start making spoons or whatever.
If Jaguar were a person they'd be a gibbering wreck by now and hooked on anti-depressants. If they were a dog they'd have been put to sleep.
I think it's understandable that they're just taking a nice big step back and just letting a few things float past before re-emerging with hopefully a lineup of cars that we might want to have.
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