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JLR Abandons Plan for Assembly Plant in Saudi Arabia
Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. has cancelled plans to establish vehicle production in Saudi Arabia, sources tell the Financial Times.
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Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. has cancelled plans to establish vehicle production in Saudi Arabia, sources tell the Financial Times.
The scheme, code named Project Fern, aimed to give JLR a domestic production base in one of its strongest markets, while helping Saudi Arabia establish a manufacturing base. JLR signed a letter of intent in 2012 to erect a factory in the country by 2017 with annual capacity to make 50,000 vehicles.
But FT's sources say Saudi Arabia wanted to control the plant and charge JLR rent and maintenance fees. They also say the project was complicated by the challenges of keeping fine desert sand particles out of the production process and complying with Saudi rules about segregating men and women in the workplace. "In the end," one source tells the newspaper, "nobody really wanted it."
The FT points out that the need for and financial viability of a Saudi factory has been sharply reduced within the past year by JLR's plans for production in China, Brazil and Slovakia.
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