And the first product to be build at the JLR plant in China will be..... The Evoque.

The Range Rover Evoque will be the first model built at Jaguar Land Rover's new China factory, company CEO Ralf Speth said.

"We are starting with the vehicle with the highest demand (in China)," Speth told journalists at a press event in London.

Jaguar Land Rover may add production of its new Land Rover Discovery Sport at a later date, he said. "We are starting with one vehicle at first. We have to train our employees and bring them up to speed," Speth said.

The factory in Changshu, northeast of Shanghai, will officially open in October with production starting shortly after. Jaguar Land Rover's joint venture with China's Chery Automobile will run the plant.

It is the automaker's first full-scale assembly plant outside the United Kingdom and includes an engine plant that will start production in 2015. That plant will produce the automaker's new range of Ingenium four-cylinder engines.

China is a fast-growing market for Jaguar Land Rover. In the first six months, the automaker sold 62,479 vehicles in China, out of a global volume of 240,372.

The plant also will build vehicles to be sold under a new joint-venture brand, which was a condition of the Chinese government's approval of the factory.

Asked whether Jaguar Land Rover will build a long-wheelbase version of the new Jaguar XE midsize sedan in China, Speth replied: "If we do a longer version, then we have to produce the vehicle in China; otherwise it doesn't make sense."

Last year, Bernstein analyst Max Warburton wrote that the automaker targets sales of 150,000 cars in China in 2015. He estimated the firm currently makes half of its global profits in China, thanks to strong demand for the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport.

Last year, Jaguar Land Rover made a profit before taxes of 2.5 billion pounds (24.9 billion yuan).

Jaguar Land Rover currently builds cars from kits in India, and the company also has announced plans to build a plant in Brazil with production scheduled for 2016. Speth said the company was in talks to build a plant in Saudi Arabia.

JLR to build new Engine facility in China, before the first plant is up and running ?

VEHICLE manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover could be set to expand its facilities in China even before its existing plant gets into full production.

Reports have suggested the company could be on the verge of committing to a new engine plant to support its new factory in Changshu, in the Jiangshu Province – a joint venture project with Chery.

The Financial Times said the new engine plant would be built on the same site as the Changshu facility although it would be unlikely to see development until after the company’s new engine plant on the i54 site outside Wolverhampton had begun production, which is expected this autumn in advance of the launch of the Jaguar XE.

Such a move in China is a further example of how keen the company is to expand its international presence, especially in emerging markets.

It would also support JLR’s intention of doubling its current production capacity to around 600,000 vehicles per annum.

The Chinese engine plant would support both the JLR-badged vehicles being produced at Changshu and the domestic product it will be producing in partnership with Chery.

The newspaper quotes Ian Harnett, JLR’s purchasing director as saying the opportunity to develop the Chinese plant exists although he would not speculate on any timetable.

The company has been keen to control its own engine supply for some time as it gives the company greater control over its manufacturing strategy.

The FT quoted sources which suggested that construction of an engine factory in China could begin within the next two years. In the meantime, engines produced in Wolverhampton will be shipped to China.

“We will be building more engines in the UK than we do in China, for certain,” Mr Harnett told the Financial Times.

JLR chief executive Dr Ralf Speth said last month that it was likely the first vehicles produced at the factory would be rolling off production lines by the end of this year, ready for sale to Chinese buyers early next year.

REPORT HERE