Tata Group-owned luxury carmaker
Jaguar Land Rover (
JLR ) on Friday opened its first assembly plant in India, in Pune.
The plant will initially assemble JLR's sport-utility vehicle Freelander 2 from completely knocked down (CKD) kits shipped from the Halewood manufacturing unit in Liverpool, UK.
The Freelander 2, which is offered in two versions - TD4 SE Automatic and SD4 HSE Automatic - is likely to be priced around Rs 4-5 lakh lower than the imported ones. Freelander 2 in CKD model will cost Rs 33.39 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai).
"Assembling vehicles in India has duty benefits which will be passed on to our customers," Tata Motors Group Chief Executive and Managing Director Carl-Peter Forster told reporters here.
"Setting up an assembly plant shows Jaguar Land Rover is increasingly becoming a part of India. We have a big commitment to the Indian market," he said.
The Pune unit will initially have 500 employees, he said, without revealing details, including about investment.
Forster said JLR, which was bought by Tata Motors from Ford Motor Co in 2008, is likely to increase localisation of vehicles by sourcing parts from vendors in India. He, however, did not reveal the percentage.
The company has lined up around 40 new products for launch in Indian in the next five years.
"We will bring 40 new products, including engines and new vehicles, in five years to India. We see a huge potential in this market," JLR Chief Executive Ralf Speth said.
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