JLR Gets Nod From Queen for Export Success

With exports soaring and accounting for 80% of all Jaguar Land Rover vehicles built in the U.K., the automaker draws recognition from the Queen for its outstanding overseas sales growth over the last three years.

JLR last year sold 425,006 vehicles through a network of 2,520 dealers in 170 countries. Its largest export regions are mainland Europe, North America and China, together accounting for 60% of its export sales.

The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade, presented at an event during the Queen’s birthday celebration, is one of the most important rewards for British businesses.

JLR CEO Ralf Speth says it is recognition of JLR's contribution to British enterprise.

“The more we build our business, the more opportunity we can create to improve the lives of many families, by recruiting and training more people, investing in facilities and communities, and strengthening the overall growth of the U.K. economy,” he says in a statement.

JLR vehicles are engineered and designed in Britain, with two research and development centers in addition to its three production facilities. The automaker, owned by India’s Tata Motors, employs nearly 28,000 people directly in the U.K. with another 190,000 U.K. jobs supported in dealerships, suppliers and local businesses.

Later this year, it is to open its first all-new engine manufacturing facility near Wolverhampton, 140 miles (225 km) northwest of London, to produce a new family of advanced, aluminum engines, called “Ingenium,” that will power future Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles.

The £500 million ($841 million) facility will create about 1,400 jobs as well as 3,500 in the supply chain and the wider U.K. economy.

JLR is spending another £1.5 billion ($2.5 billion) to introduce an all-new, technically advanced aluminum vehicle architecture in forthcoming models, beginning with the Jaguar XE premium sedan to be manufactured beginning next year at its Solihull plant, 110 miles (177 km) northwest of London.

JLR is the only automotive company to hold all three Royal Warrants, as a supplier of goods and services to the households of the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Prince of Wales.