Jaguar Land Rover is set to create 1,300 new jobs in Britain to support the production of F-PACE, the production version of the C-X17 concept crossover vehicle it unveiled at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2013.
JLR had kept the name “F-PACE” of the production version of the sports SUV crossover under wraps until the Detroit Auto Show. The five-seater vehicle is set to go sale in 2016, and will be produced alongside the Jaguar XE at the newly built facilities within its Solihull plant near the British city of Birmingham. The company has pumped in £1.5 billion for creating new facilities focused on lightweight and aluminium technologies at Solihull, bringing the Jaguar brand (the XE and the F-PACE) to a facility that had previously focused on the Land Rover range.
JLR said that as a result of these continuing developments at the site, it would be creating 1,300 jobs. The new jobs largely constitute production roles, skilled trade and engineering roles, and manufacturing support functions.
“Today’s announcement once again demonstrates our commitment to the UK and the advancement of a high-tech high-skilled manufacturing-led economy,” said CEO Ralf Speth in a statement.
JLR has been rapidly expanding its workforce in recent years. In addition to the jobs created when it set up its joint venture in China with Chery Automobile Co Ltd, it announced the creation of 1,400 jobs (in the long term) when it opened its engine manufacturing facility in the UK late last year, and 1,700 jobs in 2013 to support the production of the Jaguar XE, which goes on sale this year.
Inspired by the F-Type sports car, the F-PACE would position Jaguar in the fast growing small-to-medium luxury SUV sector, amid demand for fuel-efficient luxury family cars across emerging and growth markets.
JLR has dubbed it a practical “family sports car” — with the drivability typically associated with the Jaguar sports brand but large enough to pass as a family car.