JLR to invest £2.75 bn for eight models in 2013

Tata Motor's UK-based luxury automobiles arm British Jaguar Land Rover will invest £2.75 billion in product development in the UK to support the launch of eight new or refreshed models in 2013.

The investments would be made at the Engine Manufacturing Centre, which will open later this year. The first engines would be rolled out in 2015, the company said in a statement.

The luxury car manufacturer, which Tata Motors acquired for £2.7 billion from Ford Motors in 2008, will almost double the number of engineering and manufacturing jobs at the plant to almost 1,400.

The company's new Engine Manufacturing Centre in the UK will produce a new generation of technologically-advanced, lightweight, low-emission four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines. The new models include the Jaguar F-TYPE and the introduction of a nine-speed gearbox in its Land Rover product line-up.

''Jaguar Land Rover's new Engine Manufacturing Centre in the UK is a clear demonstration of our business strategy guiding our investment plans. Not only does it bring our engine supply back to our production doorstep, but it gives us significant new resource as we continue to innovate with new products and markets,'' Jaguar Land Rover's Chief Executive Officer Ralf Speth said.

The 100,000-square-metre plant will include an engine testing centre alongside the manufacturing and assembly halls.

JLR's new engine manufacturing centre in the U.K. is essential to support the company's long-term strategic growth plans and will be the home for a new generation of technologically advanced, lightweight four-cylinder low-emission diesel and petrol engines.

''Since 2008, we have invested in our business and will continue to do so in order to support our strategy for measured, sustainable growth over the next five years,'' Ralf Speth said.