Jaguar Land Rover to Boost U.K. Capacity

Tata Motors Ltd.'s Jaguar Land Rover unit plans to spend 200 million (€246 million) to prepare its Castle Bromwich factory near Birmingham, England, to begin producing the new F-Type roadster next year, the Daily Telegraph reports.

The newspaper, which does not cite sources, says the investment will boost the plant's annual capacity 50% to an unspecified level. The facility, which was in danger of closing three years ago, will reportedly hire as many as 1,000 new employees. The factory currently builds the Jaguar XF midsize sport sedan, XJ luxury sedan and XK coupe and convertible.

The F-Type, which is set to arrive in dealerships in mid-2013, will be Jaguar's fourth nameplate. The car will be based on the C-X16 concept unveiled last September at the Frankfurt auto show.

JLR confirms it will offer a flagship version of the F-Type equipped with a 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 engine. The company said previously it would offer the car with a 3.0-liter supercharged V-6. A coupe variant of the F-Type is expected to arrive after the roadster.

JLR is in the midst of a significant expansion. Since September, the company has announced plans for a new 355 million (€437 million) engine plant in Wolverhampton, 1,000 new hires at its Solihull facility to build the next-generation Range Rover and the expansion of its Halewood plant to boost production of the Range Rover Evoque. In March, the company formed a joint venture with Chery Automobile Co. to produce cars and SUVs in China by 2017.