Tata Jaguar Land Rover working on plan to open factory in US

Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), in a first for a British carmaker, is working on an ambitious plan to set up a factory in the United States, which is the world's second-biggest automobile market.

The West Midlands-based luxury auto major is reportedly talking to several southern states of America, including South Carolina, about building a plant in the US, The Sunday Times claimed on Sunday.

JLR is capitalising on a turnaround in its fortunes after Tata acquired the struggling brand for around 1.3 billion pounds back in 2008.

It is all set to open a 1.3 lakh-vehicle factory in China on Tuesday and later in October will launch its i54 engine plant in Wolverhampton, which will be an investment worth 500 million pounds.

The Tata Motors-owned carmaker has also signed a deal for a new factory in Brazil and is exploring three possible locations in Wales for a new logistics hub, while it is also considering a site in the Midlands.

Selling directly into the US would allow JLR to avoid high import tariffs and smoothen the impact of fluctuating currency rates.

The newspaper believes it would probably receive significant start-up support from the chosen state, and could commit itself to building a factory that will eventually produce 200,000 cars a year.

The company has also been exploring the possibility of opening a factory in Mexico.

JLR sold about 55,000 cars in North America in 2013, an eighth of its global sales of 4.25 lakh cars.

The company's target is to reach 1 million cars by the end of the decade.

(PTI)