5:11 pm, January 27, 2013
JAGUAR have begun production of their XF saloon at their Pune plant in India.
The XFs built in Pune will only be sold in the Indian market, with production fulfilling the high demand for luxury vehicles in the country. The plant already assembles Land Rover’s Freelander 2, and has done since May 2011.
The facility is purely assembly, though – with components still being shipped in from Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich plant near Birmingham.
‘India is a market that offers significant opportunities for both the Jaguar and Land Rover brands,’ said Dr Ralf Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover.
‘The expansion of our Pune operations to include the Jaguar XF will help us realise our ambitions for the Indian market. Jaguar Land Rover is committed to building a sustainable, profitable business; increasing our global manufacturing footprint is a key element of our growth strategy.
‘Together with our joint venture manufacturing facility already under construction near Shanghai, expanding our operations at Pune will help us increase the global volume of cars we build, in addition to those produced in the UK’
Rohit Suri, vice president of Jaguar Land Rover India said: ‘The Jaguar XF has become very popular with our customers due to its sports car performance, outstanding luxury saloon elegance and contemporary individual styling.
‘Its inspired engineering and technological innovation have helped it to win more than 100 awards internationally. So we are now delighted to offer this car as a locally built product with a new engine for this market, which will enable us to provide our customers with a wider choice of competitively priced models.’
