Land Rover to Begin Production in China This Year

Tata Motors Ltd.'s Land Rover brand will begin SUV pilot production in China this week. The plant, operated with venture partner Chery Automobile Co. in Changshu.

The company hasn't revealed which model it will build first. But Bob Grace, president of Land Rover China, tells reporters at the Beijing auto show the vehicle will be powered by a 4-cylinder engine displacing fewer than 2.0 liters.

Local production will enable Land Rover to cut the price of the SUV by about 15%, according to Grace. Domestically made vehicles also sidestep China's 25% tariff on imports.