Jaguar Land Rover is commencing production of the Jaguar XF saloon at its facility in Pune, India, from components supplied from the company’s Castle Bromwich plant in Birmingham, UK.
The initial Pune-built Jaguar XF models will feature the company’s acclaimed 2.2-litre diesel engine, which is coming to the Indian market for the first time. The Jaguars will be built alongside Land Rover Freelander 2 vehicles which have been produced in Pune since May 2011
Dr Ralf Speth, Chief Executive of Jaguar Land Rover, said: "India is a market that offers significant opportunities for both the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. 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, Jaguar Land Rover India said: “The Land Rover Freelander 2 and the Jaguar XF are our best-selling models in India and this has driven the move to build these products locally.
"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."
Jaguar Land Rover India recently announced a 32% growth in wholesales in 2012 at 2393 cars compared with 1813 cars in the previous year.
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