Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced that it is to manufacture the new Land Rover Discovery Sport model at its Merseyside plant, creating an extra 250 jobs at the Halewood site. A total of £200 million has been invested to support the introduction of the new vehicle; the new equipment includes a £45 million press line, 260 robots and laser welding facilities, plus equipment-monitoring and reporting systems.

The Discovery Sport, a compact SUV — pictured undergoing assembly tests — is the first member of a new family of Discovery vehicles; it is set to go on sale next year. The new jobs created will take the workforce at Halewood to 4,750; this will mean that staff numbers have trebled since 2010.

Richard Else — JLR’s Halewood operations director — said: “I am delighted to be welcoming the new Land Rover Discovery Sport to Halewood. Its arrival has been
a further boost to the region and to our committed and loyal workforce, who are all passionate ambassadors for this great company.

“In many ways, Halewood has embodied the transformation of Jaguar Land Rover. We have seen our workforce treble and production quadruple in just four years. Today, we are operating three shifts to meet global demand. I am confident that the team will rise to the challenge and deliver a flawless launch of this exciting new model.”

Halewood became home to the Range Rover Evoque, JLR’s top selling model, in 2011. More than 80% of its production is exported — to 170 global markets.