JLR plans for 10,000 jobs in electric cars

Jaguar Land Rover has challenged the government to invest £450m in Midlands infrastructure, saying that it could create 10,000 jobs and build electric cars in the region in return.

The carmaker hopes to take advantage of a government pledge to put battery development and electric vehicles at the heart of its industrial strategy.

Ralf Speth, chief executive of JLR, said the UK faced strong competition from other countries in its drive to become a leader in electric cars.

“The German government wants to be ahead in this,” he said. “We are in a race. Either we win or we lose.”

He told a meeting of political and automotive leaders from the Midlands this week that JLR’s Midlands expansion would require big improvements in local infrastructure, including an extra 12 to 15 gigawatts per year of electricity.

The company would need additional land for development and “the right legislative framework”, Mr Speth said.

JLR would require a further £600m of private investment, according to a planning document seen by the FT.

A company official confirmed plans for 10,000 jobs as part of the Midlands expansion.

Greg Clark, business secretary, was at the meeting and said the government “couldn’t be more aligned” with the car group in its ambitions for electric vehicles. The development of battery-powered cars would be “one of the big features of . . . Britain’s industrial policy”.

JLR’s plans are a potential boost to the UK economy’s prospects after the Brexit vote, which many predicted would deter companies from investing in the UK.

A month ago, Nissan announced that it would build two new models at its plant in Sunderland in return for government “support and assurances”.

This week the government pledged an additional £2bn a year by 2020 to fund research and development, while Philip Hammond, chancellor, announced an £80m boost for electric charging points in his Autumn Statement.

JLR’s plans include building test centres and research facilities on a 60-acre site close to its Coventry headquarters. In the longer term, its goal is to build a battery manufacturing plant on a site that could eventually produce electric vehicles.

Martin Yardley, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said the first stage of JLR’s expansion could create as many as 100,000 jobs in the supply chain.