JLR to Move Discovery SUV Output to Slovakia in 2019

Tata Motors Ltd.’s Jaguar Land Rover unit will relocate all production of its Land Rover Discovery SUV from the U.K. to Slovakia in early 2019.

JLR announced in November 2016 that it would build a €1.4 billion assembly plant in Nitra. The factory will have initial annual capacity to make 150,000 Discovery vehicles per year.

At the time, JLR said the Slovakian factory would supplement Discovery production at Solihull, England, which was operating at full capacity. The Discovery also is assembled in Changshu, China.

Bloomberg News says Solihull will add capacity to make electric cars and be retooled to make next-generation Ranger Rover and Range Rover Sport models. The company acknowledges the production shift may cause cutbacks in the use of temporary workers at Solihull.