Land Rover today confirmed it would build its Freelander successor, the Discovery Sport, at a new Jag Land Rover (JLR) factory in Brazil from 2016.
The company is spending £240 million on the new facility in Italiaia by the end of 2020 and will have the capacity to build 24,000 vehicles a year.
That’s relatively small fry compared with the company’s output in the UK and looming industrial footprint in Asia – but a useful tap to pour locally produced models into Latin America’s biggest marketplace.
Click here for our full analysis of the new Land Rover Discovery Sport.
Land Rover: the only British car maker to have a factory in Brazil
JLR first announced plans to build its first south American car factory in December 2013, and today’s announcement at the Sao Paulo motor show confirmed the Discovery Sport to be in the first wave of models to be built there.
The company says it will be the only British car maker to have a manufacturing footprint in Brazil. It will have no impact on its Midlands and Halewood operations in the UK.
Instead, the new site will supply both the booming Brazilian and other markets in south America.
The bigger picture
This is part of a bigger expansion plan at Jaguar Land Rover. The company has been too reliant on the established western markets in the past and is now piling into the fast growing BRIC countries to broaden its footprint around the world.
Land Rover claims 400 new jobs will be created at the Brazilian plant, followed by 1000 new positions in the local supply chain.
Check out the Dacia Duster pick-up truck, also unveiled this week at the Sao Paulo motor show.