Work has begun on a joint venture project between China’s auto giant Chery and Tata-owned luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover after the laying of a foundation stone in Changshu, China
The JV project, costing $2.8bn, will have an annual output of 250,000 units of passenger vehicles. The first phase of the project, worth $1.75bn, is expected to begin producing vehicles in July 2014.
Annual production capacity of the first phase will include 77,000 Land Rover SUVs, 23,000 Chery cars, and 30,000 Jaguar cars by 2016.
New energy-efficient vehicles and aluminium-bodied cars will also be produced as part of the JV after completion, carrying their own brand.
China is currently the third-largest market for Jaguar Land Rover and is growing rapidly.
Jaguar Land Rover, which is the largest manufacturer of premium vehicles in Britain, is also expected to establish a research and development centre in the city.
Chery was founded in 1997 and is now one of China’s largest automotive manufacturers. In 2011, Chery the company sold 643,000 cars, making it the sixth-biggest manufacturer of passenger vehicles.
The stone-laying ceremony was held at the at the factory site in the economic and technology development area of Changshu, a city in China’s eastern Jiangsu province, which is 100km North West of Shanghai.
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