Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that it has signed a letter of intent with the Slovakian government for a production facility in Nitra, Slovakia. This news comes after much speculation over Poland being considered as the eastern European location for the facility. The recent relaxation of investment regulations in Slovakia has definitely helped influence the carmaker’s decision.
The new facility will allow JLR to expand their production capacity by over 30,000 vehicles, boosting JLR's overall global production output to 8,00,000 units yearly, while easing development of newer vehicles and technology. The plant will be an addition to the existing assembly and production facilities in UK, China, India, and also the upcoming plant in Brazil, and not a replacement to any current facility.
The facility will bear the onus of producing the lighter aluminium-bodied Jaguar and Land Rover models slated for release 2018 onwards. Official word on the cars that will roll out of the Slovakian plant isn't out yet, but rumour has it that the upcoming Land Rover Discovery 5, and the Land Rover Defender's replacement are being considered for production in the new facility. The production of the Jaguar XE, Jaguar F-Pace, Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport shall continue in the company's UK plant.