Jaguar Land Rover new plant in China, More details on interior set up.

Marking the commencement of production of the first ever Sino-British premium automotive joint venture, Chery Jaguar Land Rover officially opened its plant in Changshu, Jiangsu Province last month as it formally moved into full business operation.

The 50-50 joint venture between Chery and Jaguar Land Rover bore fruits two years after it took roots. At an investment of 10.9 billion yuan (US$1.77 billion), after 5 million man hours on construction and equipment installation, with almost 250,000 meters of piling and over 25,000 tons of steel, the plant has been established as one of the world's most advanced and efficient automobile manufacturing facilities, and the first full-scale manufacturing facility of Jaguar Land Rover outside the UK.

The factory covers a total space of 811,300 square meters and the buildings occupy 376,000 square meters or equivalent to 52 Wembley football pitches or 6 "Bird Nest" Stadiums. The plant is capable of producing 130,000 vehicles annually at its initial stage.

The plant inauguration came along with the official roll-off of the locally produced Range Rover Evoque. As the first member of the joint venture's product family, this popular premium SUV model is expected to hit the market early next year. By 2016, the plant will be producing three Jaguar Land Rover models.

"The plant opening marks the completion of our start-up phase of which we are incredibly proud, and now we will continue to build with the same passion and pride, to realize our goal to be the premium automotive manufacturer inspiring excellence in China's automotive industry," said Chris Bryant, President of Chery Jaguar Land Rover.

Equipped with state-of-the-art press, body, paint, trim and final workshops, a quality center and an engine plant, Chery Jaguar Land Rover aims to set a new benchmark of production efficiency and quality.

Two top-notch press lines, one as the fastest press line in the world, and the other as the fastest mechanical press line in China, enable the press shop to process both steel and aluminum materials at world-class rates. Boasting an automation rate of up to 85 percent, the body shop has 306 robots in place to undertake welding work to pursue higher quality and more stable automobile bodies. At the paint shop, an advanced dry Scrubber Spray system helps to recycle 95 percent of air, enabling 60 percent energy savings of the Spray Booth. And a sophisticated decking system applied in trim and final shop with a fully automatic marriage process includes the application of a dynamic strut movement and locating system, which is firstly created in China.

The plant's quality center put in use industry-leading three-coordinate chamber, Hydro-Pulse and environmental chamber, and world-class air tightness standards. Over the past two years, the company has been helping local suppliers develop their capabilities to meet its global quality standards. And it sent key workers from Changshu to UK for comprehensive training to make sure they fully understand the system and process required to deliver world-class quality products.

The quality of the products must be as good as that of those imported from the UK, the company said, which aims to take a steady pace to increase its manufacturing localization rate.

The company's research and development center, with over 290 experienced engineers already on board, are working closely with Jaguar Land Rover's team in UK to optimize product development, from product planning, project management, process, system and engineering applications, trial production, testing for finished vehicles, product localization design, improvement of emission and engine performance to new energy development.

"With the continuous support from our parent companies, the local government, our suppliers, dealers and all other business partners, we will continue to offer excellent world-class quality products and services to Chinese customers, enabling them to enjoy the unique premium automotive brand experience that they most desire," said Zhu Guohua, Deputy President of Chery Jaguar Land Rover.