Jaguar Land Rover has agreed to a manufacturing partnership with Magna Steyr, an operating unit of Magna International Inc, to build future vehicles in Graz, Austria.
With plans already in place to take Jaguar Land Rover's three vehicle manufacturing plants in the UK close to their operating capacity, the collaboration with Magna Steyr will create additional volumes needed to support the company's plans to achieve further growth.
Dr. Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover's Chief Executive Officer, said: "The UK remains at the centre of our design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Partnerships such as this will complement our UK operations and engineering.
"Today marks another step in building our global footprint. This agreement will allow us to expand our award-winning model range as customers around the world demand ever-more innovative vehicles from Jaguar Land Rover."
Over the past five years, Jaguar Land Rover has doubled sales to more than 462,000 vehicles, doubled employment to more than 35,000 people and invested more than £10 billion in new product creation and capital expenditure.
During this time, the company has invested heavily in its UK vehicle manufacturing facilities at Castle Bromwich, Halewood and Solihull to support the introduction of 10 all-new vehicles, including the Jaguar XE, Jaguar F-TYPE, Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport.
With more than 100 years' experience, Magna Steyr has extensive contract manufacturing expertise working with many car manufacturers globally.
"The signing of this contract with Jaguar Land Rover reflects the trust in our capability and heritage as a vehicle contract manufacturer," said Günther Apfalter, President Magna Steyr and Magna International Europe.
"The partnership with Jaguar Land Rover brings a new customer to our Graz plant. As always, we will work with our fullest commitment and dedication to ensure that we meet our customer's high expectations."
Jaguar Land Rover is strengthening its international manufacturing presence with the opening of its joint venture factory in China and the construction of its new plant in Brazil is underway.
The expansion of its international manufacturing operations allows Jaguar Land Rover to develop an increasingly flexible, agile and efficient global manufacturing strategy.
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