Jaguar Land Rover to launch the new petrol Ingenium range of engines from this summer.

• Jaguar Land Rover’s £1bn UK Engine Manufacturing Centre (EMC) produces first Ingenium petrol engines
• New petrol engines will debut in Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles in the summer
• Production of the Ingenium petrol marks the completion of first phase of the EMC
• EMC fulfils its commitment to create 1,400 new skilled jobs 

Jaguar Land Rover’s £1bn Engine Manufacturing Centre (EMC) today celebrated production of its first Ingenium petrol engine, which will debut in vehicles later in the summer. The inaugural petrol engines mark the completion of the first phase of the EMC; a fully flexible, state-of-the-art manufacturing plant that now serves Jaguar Land Rover’s three UK vehicle plants.

Hailed as the most significant new automotive manufacturing facility in the UK in the last decade. Production of the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder petrol Ingenium engine, adds to its line-up, which also includes the ultra-low emission 2.0-litre 150PS, 163PS and 240PS four-cylinder diesel engines. 

The milestone follows an announcement last week that the EMC would manufacture the high-performance 2.0-litre 300PS Ingenium petrol engine – the most powerful four-cylinder engine Jaguar Land Rover has ever produced – for the 18MY Jaguar F-TYPE. 

Trevor Leeks, EMC Operations Director, said: “The start of petrol production marks an important milestone for the plant as we move to providing a suite of ultra-low emission, high-performance petrol and diesel engines to power the full Jaguar and Land Rover vehicle line-up now and in the future.

“Importantly, it also showcases the incredible impact Jaguar Land Rover has had on the local economy with the creation of the 1,400 skilled jobs promised when we opened the plant in 2013. In fact we will be welcoming our 1,400th employee at the end of this month.”

The start of petrol engine production reaffirms Jaguar Land Rover’s strategic investment programme to build skills and capability in the UK. Of the 1,400 people recruited at the plant, more than 80 per cent live within 10 -miles of the Wolverhampton plant, bringing opportunity and prosperity to the region. More than 125,000 hours of training has been undertaken to create a world-class workforce, which includes a former bus driver, a nurse, a beauty therapist and a locksmith. 

Georgia Rigby, an Integrated Manufacturing Specialist in the petrol assembly hall, joined the EMC in February 2016 from the catering industry. She said: “The EMC has quickly grown to be an incredibly important part of this region, celebrated for the jobs created and the quality of the training and career opportunities on offer.

“I was keen to join Jaguar Land Rover after hearing really positive things from my friends who work here. I have been here for just over a year now and it’s been fantastic.”

The EMC has also welcomed more than 50 apprentices and graduates, all on a bespoke powertrain development programme designed to support the design, engineering and production of Jaguar Land Rover advanced engine range. 

Amy Stephenson, a third-year Advanced Apprentice at the EMC, said: “I’ve always been interested in engineering and going to Wednesfield High, which is partnered with the EMC, meant we were encouraged to explore engineering career opportunities. In advance of joining the apprenticeship programme, I had visited the EMC and found it a really inspiring environment. It’s a brand new facility with new people and I’m really proud to be a part it.” 

Since production of the Ingenium diesel engine began exactly two years ago, the EMC has built in excess of 400,000 engines. It has welcomed more than 40,000 visitors including three members of the Royal family, 20 Government officials, including prime ministers, British cabinet ministers and local MPs and more than 3,000 children through its Education Business Partnership Centre. More than 85,000 cups of tea and coffee have been consumed and 14,000 slices of the famous EMC flapjacks have been eaten. Trevor Leeks has taken 3.6 million steps in his role as Operations Director; the equivalent of travelling to the moon and back seven times, and employees have given more than 1,000 hours of volunteering to local good causes. 

In a very short time the EMC has made its mark as the beating heart of Jaguar Land Rover’s UK manufacturing operations.

The Ford Escort has been named as the fans most favourite of all time by the Ford fans.

• Britain’s favourite classic Fords are the Escort and Capri
• Celebrating icons ahead of Classic Ford Show
• Major event for the Blue Ovals’ finest takes place at Santa Pod, Sunday, June 5

The iconic Escort has been named the favourite Ford of all time by fans of the UK’s best-selling car brand.

Launched in 1968, the Escort was sold in six generations and enjoyed an impressive 32-year production run, with the final hatchback model rolling off the production line at Halewood, Liverpool, in July 2000, although the Escort van remained on sale until 2002.

In total, over three million Escorts were sold in Britain, making it one of the country’s best selling cars of all-time.

It spawned several performance models, including the RS1600, the Mexico, the RS2000, The XR3, RS Turbo and RS Cosworth, all of which enjoyed astonishing motorsport success.

The Escort scored 36 per cent of the vote in a survey organised by The Classic Ford Show, beating the Capri to a close second in terms of legendary status.

Both of the icons, along with other fine names from Ford’s past, such as the Anglia, Cortina, Mustang and Granada, along with more modern icons such as the Fiesta and Focus, will be in abundance at the Show, which takes place at Santa Pod, Beds, on Sunday June 5.

The Classic Ford Show, in association with Admiral, will play host to thousands of the best Fords in Britain, from both club exhibitors and individual entrants.

There will be a wide variety of standard, tuned and modified cars on display at the show, which is supported byClassic Ford, the UK’s leading publication for fans of the Blue Oval’s most iconic models.

It will feature an exclusive Ford-only Run What Ya Brung on the drag strip, open to show visitors and their cars. The quarter-mile contest will give guests the chance to pit their own Fords against each other, and drivers will receive a full performance print out showing reaction time, terminal speed and the time it took to complete the sprint.

Another major highlight of the show will be a series of Ford Drag Car demos, featuring some of Santa Pod’s most famous Ford-based dragsters, which are always a huge hit at the show. The hotted-up Capris, Sierras, Anglias, Fiestas and more will be available to view in the pit area, where showgoers can get up close to the cars and their drivers.

Santa Pod will also be doing a few runs with the strip’s famous FireForce Jet Car. Powered by the engine from a Skycrane helicopter and putting out approximately 10,000bhp and 5,000lbs of thrust, FireForce has the fastest terminal speed of any Jet Car in the world – it’s an impressive beast to look at, and even more awe-inspiring to hear.

In addition, there will be dramatic live stunt displays, drift trikes and the opportunity for  showgoers to win a Ford Focus ST, which is currently being transformed by Classic Ford’s sister title, Fast Ford.

This year, the show is backed by Admiral, which has introduced a range of classic car insurance products including policies aimed at owners of multiple vehicles.

Those wanting to make a weekend of it will be able to take advantage of on-site camping, available from midday on Saturday June 4, complete with a bar and live entertainment.

JLR has stated it aims to increase the number of ex-service staff employed across the world to 1000 by 2020.

• UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer aims to deliver a five-fold increase on ex-service recruitment in the next four years.
• Renewed commitment to skills and training opens up new opportunities and careers to military heroes.
• Move supports the company’s ambition to become the employer of choice for service leavers.
• New North American Veterans programme is a significant milestone and signals the expansion of programmes offered by the Jaguar Land Rover Learning Academy.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that it aims to increase the number of ex-service men and women employed across its global operations to 1000 by 2020 - a five-fold increase on recruitment since 2013. 

This news came as the UK’s largest vehicle manufacturer welcomed the start of the 2016 Invictus Games in Orlando, Florida. 

The company has been Presenting Partner of the Invictus Games since the inaugural event in London in 2014 and has committed to continuing its support for the 2017 Games to be held in Toronto, Canada.

Ian Harnett, Executive Director of Human Resources at Jaguar Land Rover said: “It is fitting that this announcement comes ahead of the Invictus Games, an inspirational event that demonstrates the resilience and dedication of those in the armed forces.  

I am immeasurably proud that through our company, and the Jaguar Land Rover Learning Academy, we have been able to give hundreds of ex-service personnel the opportunity to rebuild their lives and careers.

“As the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer and a growing global business, we have an obligation to advance the skills and capability of the industry, and in doing so, provide opportunities for passionate people to unleash their full potential. 

That is why we are making it our mission to see the number of people recruited into our business from the military increase significantly in the coming years”.

Jaguar Land Rover has a long and proud history of supporting the military and today’s announcement further supports the company’s ambition to become the employer of choice for those leaving the forces.  

Jaguar Land Rover recognises that skilled and talented people, such as those who have served in the forces, will enable it to deliver long-term sustainable growth.

A significant step in realising its targets is the introduction of a new programme to train and recruit up to 180 veterans across the company’s North American retail network. This initiative has been developed with CALIBRE Systems Inc.* and is the first major military programme for the company outside the UK.

At home, Jaguar Land Rover has recruited more than 200 ex-service men and women since it pledged its support to the 2014 Invictus Games. Some of these joined the business following training delivered through the Jaguar Land Rover Learning Academy. Created to provide ‘lifelong learning’ opportunities not only to its employees globally, but to others seeking bright futures in the automotive industry, the Academy delivers bespoke programmes for service leavers.

Since 2015 more than 30 service personnel have participated in the ‘Inspiring Tomorrow’s Workforce’ and ‘Wounded, Injured and Sick’** (WIS) programmes with 75 per cent of these finding roles at Jaguar Land Rover. Many others have gone on to find jobs in our supply chain and wider industry.

One such recruit is Luke Darlington, who participated in the inaugural Invictus Games in 2014. Luke, who served with 42 Commando, Royal Marines, suffered multiple serious injuries whilst on tour in Afghanistan. 

An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) caused a severe shrapnel wound to his brain, leading to weeks in an induced coma and brain surgery to remove an abscess caused by infection. He went through months of strenuous rehabilitation at Headley Court and the Queen Elizabeth II Brain Injury Centre, but his short military service came to an end.

In November 2015 Luke joined the WIS programme, having heard about it during the Invictus Games. 

Luke said:“I was at home and feeling very depressed as I was not achieving anything in my day to day life. The WIS programme allowed me to develop new skills and re-ignite old ones which I had used in the military.  I had not appreciated just how relevant experience in the Royal Marines could be to an automotive company. 

Since completing my training with Jaguar Land Rover my confidence has grown. I feel worthwhile again”.

Luke spent ten weeks on the programme on the Land Rover Defender production line and 4 in other functions across the business. So impressed were the team that, they offered him a permanent position as a Production Leader in Europe’s largest aluminium body shop at the Solihull manufacturing plant. 

Luke said: “The sense of achievement of being offered the job was fantastic, I felt like I belonged again. I had a sense of pride and purpose which was missing from my life, something I thought I was never going to get back once I left the Marines. 

The support I had from Jaguar Land Rover, the Royal Marines Charity, the RBL and Mission Motorsport was fantastic and I would recommend the programme to anybody”.

Jaguar Land Rover’s work, as a signatory to the Armed Forces Covenant, continues to push boundaries and led to the company being presented with a gold award for its active support of the Armed Forces. 

The firm also continues its support of service charities including Mission Motorsport, Help for Heroes, Rally for Heroes, ABF The Soldiers' Charity and individual regimental associations. 

In October, the company sponsored the Walking With the Wounded Walk of Britain to raise awareness and retraining of wounded veterans leaving the Armed Forces. 

The Land Rover Discovery Sport has become the best selling product within the brand, 100,000th on Mothers Day.

• Land Rover marks the production of its 100,000^th Discovery Sport in Halewood, UK, with a surprise for one lucky mum on Mother’s Day
• Land Rover designers and engineers go undercover with Lipton family to produce a Discovery Sport filled with unique, personalised touches
• Milestone for Land Rover’s versatile compact SUV produced exactly 500 days after production commenced in October 2014
• Success ensures three shift production continues at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant

Land Rover today marked the production of the 100,000^th Discovery Sport with a special surprise for one mum, Natalie Lipton, on Mother’s Day. The Lipton family had unwittingly purchased the milestone vehicle which was built at Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood manufacturing plant, just 10 miles from their family home. 

To celebrate the milestone, which was reached just days before Mother’s Day in the UK, Land Rover went undercover with 7 year old Jacob and 5 year old Noah to find out just how this car could be made even more special for their mum.

Accompanied by Paul Cleaver, Discovery Sport Vehicle Programme Director and Andy Wheel, Land Rover’s Chief Design Manager for Exteriors, the Lipton boys had an access-all-areas tour of the company’s Design and Engineering Centre at Gaydon. From experiencing driving virtual cars to developing clay models, Noah and Jacob provided the team with lots of inspiration and ideas for making this car special for mum Natalie.

Paul Cleaver said: “It’s fantastic that the Discovery Sport has reached this significant milestone. To know that this car has resonated with customers across the world is a testament to the whole team involved in its creation and delivery.

“The Discovery Sport is a truly versatile family car so it’s fitting that we are celebrating with such a special project from the Land Rover family to the Lipton family. It was fantastic meeting Noah and Jacob, they were enthusiastic, energetic and full of great ideas – definitely budding future car designers!”

To bring the boys’ ideas to life, a team of designers, suppliers and experts from Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations worked to create special touches which were delivered lineside and placed in the car during production by the team at the Halewood manufacturing plant in Merseyside. Halewood officially began production of Discovery Sport in October 2015 thanks to a £200mn investment which bought an additional 250 jobs to the plant, ensuring three shift, 24 hour production. The 100,000^th car, a Corris Grey HSE, rolled off the production line on February 29^th, exactly 500 days after the first.

Richard Else, Halewood Operation Director said: “It is with an enormous sense of pride that the team here builds the Discovery Sport alongside the Range Rover Evoque. The introduction of these models has seen production at the plant quadruple and our workforce treble since 2010.

“This milestone, just like the 500,000th Evoque which came off the line in February, is a reminder that the Halewood manufacturing plant is responsible for bringing exceptional cars to customers in all four corners of the globe. I am however delighted that it is a mum, and her family, who live only a stone’s throw from our plant that have taken delivery of this very special car.”   

The Discovery Sport which went on sale in December 2014 is now sold in over 170 markets, with the UK, Europe and China leading the charge. The car has already claimed more than 40 international awards including, most recently, Large SUV of the Year as determined by the What Car? Car of the Year jury.

List of Mum’s Personalised Gifts

• Personalised scarf designed by children Noah, Jacob and Mila (featuring their hand prints and drawings) and produced by Land Rover design
• Personalised picnic blanket with the family name on, requested as the children love family picnics with their mum
• Personalised seat-back tidies for the children, to ensure it is kept clean for mum and dad
• Personalised tread-plates featuring 'The Liptons' name
• Personalised water bottles for all the family written in the children's handwriting
• Personalised child-seats for Noah and Jacob, with their names stitched on in their handwriting
• Rear-seat entertainment screens, to entertain the children on long journeys
• A signed cookbook from James Martin, as mum loves to cook
• A set of wellies for each member of the family, for their family walks
• A Barbour for Land Rover Jacket for mum
• A keyring featuring a favourite family snap

About Discovery Sport

The Land Rover Discovery Sport is the world's most versatile and capable premium compact SUV. The first member of the new Discovery family, Discovery Sport, features 5+2 seating in a footprint no larger than existing 5-seat premium SUVs. 

• One in every four Land Rovers produced is a Discovery Sport
• It would require a fleet of 36 seven-seat Land Rover Discovery Sports to accommodate the additional 250 people working at Halewood with jobs created by the introduction of Discovery Sport production
• A new Discovery Sport rolls off the production line every 2mins and 40 secs. That’s 33 brand new Discovery Sports in the time it takes to play a football match.
• 500 days of Discovery: The 100,000th Discovery Sport rolled off the Halewood line on 29 February 2016, precisely 500 days after the commencement of production.

Jaguar Land Rover takes teh title as the UK's biggest producer of cars topping half a million for the first time.

• Jaguar Land Rover becomes Britain’s largest automotive manufacturer
• Firm’s three UK manufacturing plants break the 500,000 production milestone in 2015
• Company’s UK production output more than trebles since 2009
• Growth is driven by unprecedented investment in new products and UK manufacturing plants to meet global consumer demand.
• Jaguar Land Rover’s growth sees UK workforce more than double to 35,000 in 5 years

Jaguar Land Rover has become the largest automotive manufacturer in Britain. The news follows today’s announcement from the SMMT that UK car manufacturing has had its best year in a decade producing 1,587,677 vehicles in 2015.  Jaguar Land Rover produced more than 500,000 cars and commercial vehicles at its three vehicle manufacturing plants in Solihull, Birmingham and Liverpool.

Under Tata Ownership, the company has seen a dramatic transformation in its business since 2009 when total annual production stood at 158,000 units. Since that time, Jaguar Land Rover has become the fastest growing UK automotive manufacturer with annual output rising by almost 70% thanks to more than £11bn of R&D investment to create an expanded and enhanced range from the two iconic British marques. In 2015 alone, Jaguar and Land Rover brought 11 new and refreshed cars to market, including the Jaguar XE and XF and the Land Rover Discovery Sport.

The news of Jaguar Land Rover’s achievement can also be attributed to the company’s unwavering commitment to its three British vehicle manufacturing plants which have each welcomed considerable investment to drive up capacity, capability and quality*. In addition, the company has invested £1bn in a state-of-the-art Engine Manufacturing Centre to build the high technology, low emissionIngenium engine. Together these facilities have created more than 10,000 manufacturing jobs in just 5 years, with the overall UK workforce more than doubling to 35,000.

Jaguar Land Rover's Executive Director of Manufacturing, Wolfgang Stadler said “Britain is the beating heart of our business, so becoming the country’s largest vehicle manufacturer is a remarkable achievement, demonstrating our steadfast commitment to the UK manufacturing sector.

“2015 was a challenging year for the industry against a backdrop of socio economic instability, but it is a testament to our strong product range and dedicated team of employees that Jaguar Land Rover has delivered year on year growth, with more exciting products to come.”

Jaguar Land Rover, who was last week named the best place to work in Britain by Bloomberg, delivered record sales in its home market in 2015 with over 100,000 vehicles registered for the first time in its history. This strong performance was also reflected in the US, where Land Rover was named the fastest growing car brand in the country. More than 80% of Jaguar Land Rover’s UK based production is exported to over 160 markets and this year the company will see further new products including the Jaguar F-PACE and Range Rover Evoque Convertible hit its global network of retailers.

It is the increasing global demand for its products that has seen Jaguar Land Rover announce plans to expand its international manufacturing footprint to support sustainable global growth. But with plans to invest a further £3bn in its products and facilities in the 2015/16 fiscal year, such as, the expansion of its Whitley and Gaydon R&D centres, the UK remains at the very heart of Jaguar Land Rover’s business.