Jaguar Land Rover confirms Brazil car factory plans

[Jaguar Owners Club]

The Evoque is one of JLR's best-selling models in Brazil

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Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed plans to build a car plant in Brazil capable of producing 24,000 vehicles a year.

The UK car company had been in talks about the project with authorities in Rio de Janeiro for months.

JLR, the luxury car unit of India's Tata, said that it would invest £240m (750m reais) in the factory, which would begin production in 2016.

JLR, which is also building a plant in China, is targeting the new rich in emerging economies.

Dr Ralf Speth, chief executive of JLR, said: "Brazil and the surrounding regions are very important. Customers there have an increasing appetite for highly capable premium products."

JLR's sales in Brazil for the first ten months of 2013 have increased by more than 40% to 9,549 vehicles. The company's best-selling models in the country are the Range Rover Evoque, Freelander and Discovery

Producing cars locally means JLR will avoid Brazil's high import tariffs. Nor does JLR have to form a partnership with a Brazilian company, as it had to in China.

As part of its joint venture in China with the Chery Automobile Company, JLR is building a manufacturing plant at Changshu.

Tata bought Jaguar and Land Rover in 2008 and has won plaudits for the way it has re-established the two prestige marques.

In September, JLR announced plans to create 1,700 jobs at its plant in Solihull in the UK as part of a £1.5bn investment to expand its product range.