Demand up, Jaguar Land Rover begin 24-hr production in UK

To keep up with a surge in global demand, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has begun 24-hour shifts at its manufacturing facility in Halewood, UK.

In its 50 years of existence, this is the first time that the Halewood staffs will work around the clock. There will be three production shifts, and the night shift will start at 9:30 pm. The move was announced earlier this year on the back of outstanding global demand for the Range Rover Evoque. 

Since its launch in July 2011, the Evoque has sold nearly 88,000 units. The waiting time for its delivery had been pushed to a year.

This facility also produces the Land Rover Freelander 2. More than 75% of its production is exported to over 170 markets worldwide. In addition, the workforce at the facility has trebled in the past three years and a total of 4,500 people are currently employed there.

The Tata Motors subsidiary achieved record profits of £1.5 billion in the fiscal year 2011-12, an increase of £392m from the previous year. In India, JLR sold 2288 cars in the same fiscal, in comparison to 891 cars sold in the previous fiscal year. Both the Freelander 2 and Evoque have received decent market response in India, but China and Russia continue to be JLR's key markets.

The Evoque is sold as a CBU at a high price of Rs 52 -66 lakh (ex-Mumbai). The Freelander has been assembled at the Pune plant since May 2011 and is priced at Rs 39 lakh - 44 lakh (ex-Mumbai).

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