Jaguar Land Rover (www.jaguarlandrover.com) recently opened a new £240 million manufacturing facility in Brazil — the first time a UK automotive group has opened a production centre in Latin America.

Located in Itatiaia (in the state of Rio de Janeiro), this is JLR’s first wholly owned overseas facility; it will build both the Range Rover Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. The factory includes a number of environmental features, such as rain-water collection, and more than 1,200 indigenous trees have been planted.

At the opening ceremony, JLR executive director (manufacturing) Wolfgang Stadler said: “The opening of this new world-class facility in Brazil marks the latest exciting milestone in our global expansion. Land Rover is already the market leader in Brazil for mid-size SUVs, accounting for more than 30% of all sales in that segment. The Range Rover Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport will now be manufactured for the first time in Latin America, building on their existing popularity with customers in Brazil.”

The plant also includes JLR’s first overseas Education Business Partnership Centre, providing a range of classroom activities for up to 12,000 local children each year. “These will help them to develop key skills and work awareness and inspire them to pursue rewarding careers at Jaguar Land Rover,” said Mr Stadler.

“We are proud of the strong links that we have established with the communities near our existing plants, and the same is true here in Brazil. The Education Business Partnership Centre is just one step we are taking to deliver exciting educational programmes to local children of all ages. Our ambition is to encourage them to consider a career in the automotive industry in the future.”

JLR has had a presence in the Brazilian market for more than 25 years. In the first five months of this year, it saw sales increase there by 11%. Later this year, two schools from Brazil will compete in the global finals of the Land Rover 4¥4 in Schools Technology Challenge.