Land Rover Output Set To Double At Halewood

LAND Rover is developing a new model that could help double the output of its Halewood plant by 2012, according to motor industry reports yesterday.

The company is planning a new seven-seat model called the Ventura based on a longer version of the existing Halewood-built Freelander chassis.

Magazine Autocar says Land Rover is looking to produce around 70,000 of the vehicles a year – and says that if it gets the go-ahead, total Halewood production could reach 210,000 vehicles a year, more than double its current output.

The Knowsley plant, which employs more than 2,000 people, builds the Land Rover Freelander 2 and the Jaguar X-Type. The Freelander 2 has been a great sales success for Land Rover but the X-Type has failed to meet sales expectations.

Earlier this year Land Rover unveiled the environmentally- friendly LRX concept vehicle, which has become known as the “Baby Land Rover”. The LRX has been well-received by the market and if given the go-ahead by Land Rover is likely to be built at Halewood from 2010, alongside the Freelander, once the X-Type is phased out.

Land Rover refused to comment directly on speculation about new models for Halewood, but a spokeswoman said: “We are going to look at boosting the product line-up. That may include a seven-seater. That may include a small vehicle like the LRX. But that’s all we can say.”

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) was taken over earlier this year by Indian giant Tata Motors in a £1.17bn deal. Earlier this month the plant’s operations director Thomas Klein described the deal as “the start of an exciting new era for Halewood”.

JLR last week announced a £700m investment in green technology which could create hundreds of jobs in the UK. Rising fuel prices and growing environmental concerns mean consumers are increasingly moving towards more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Last week, Land Rover managing director Phil Popham said he expected Land Rover sales would be flat this year, but said falling UK and US sales would be countered by growing sales in markets such as Russia and China.

This article was taken from: LDP Business

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 8:31 am and is filed under Land Rover. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.