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Say Bye-Bye to British-Built Jaguars

by

2014 Jaguar XF

If a British car is built in China under direction from its corporate headquarters in India, is it still British?

That’s the question facing Jaguar Land Rover, as the company will officially start building vehicles outside its Coventry headquarters next month.

Would a “Made in China” sticker affect your decision to buy a Jaguar? How about a Land Rover built in the United States?

Both are possible now that JLR is expanding its production overseas.

Autoblog says:

Its new plant in Changshu, China, is the result of a $1.8-billion joint venture between JLR and local automaker Chery. It covers some 4.3-million square feet and will, once at peak capacity, produce 130,000 units specifically for the Chinese market, where JLR sells over 100,000 vehicles each year to make it the company’s single largest market worldwide.

Production will start with the Land Rover Evoque and eventually include the Chinese market XF. Tata is in talks with several of the United State’s southern states to build a factory that could produce up to 200,000 vehicles per year. That’s a bit ambitious, as JLR currently sells about 55,000 cars per year in the U.S.

The Economic Times said that Tata

has also signed a deal for a new factory in Brazil and is exploring three possible locations in Wales for a new logistics hub, though it is also considering a site in the Midlands.

Selling directly into the US would allow JLR to avoid high import tariffs and smooth the impact of fluctuating currency rates.

The days of buying a Jaguar or Land Rover built in the UK are numbered. To survive in this new world market, though, automakers simply must build cars where they sell them. If it’s important that your next Jaguar or Land Rover is built in Britain, now might be a good time to stock up.

Are you more likely to buy a Jaguar or Land Rover if it’s built in the Britain?

-tgriffith

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Is this article satire? What has the country of origin got to do with purchasing a car? Do you think BMWs and German cars don’t sell in Britain?

  2. I enjoy my UK built 2009 XF. I enjoy my Belgian built 2015 Volvo XC60. My friend enjoys his Hungarian built Audi TT. Where they are built is becoming more irrelevant daily. I will, however, take a pass on the Serbian built Fiat 500L. Having endured 3 (dearly loved) FIATS in the 60s & 70s I’m just tired of serb stories.

  4. Chinese cars are coming! I saw a Songyang on the road in England last time I was there. They will sell well in the US, when they show up here as well. Maybe Chinese Volvo will be the first… Aren’t just about all cars about 50% made in China today anyway?

  5. We have driven Rovers for many years being two Land Rover Discoveries currently driving our third Range Rover will our forth Range Rover be one that is built in China the answer in simple NO

    • I have driven and owned 6 Jaguars over the past 21 years. If Jags are produced somewhere other than Great Britain, I will NOT purchase another one. I foresee the quality going downhill should that occur.