JLR Begins Expansion of Design, Engineering Center

Jaguar Land Rover launches a £200 million ($243 million) expansion of its design and engineering center, the first major construction project at one of the automaker’s non-manufacturing sites in more than a decade.

The development at Gaydon, 90 miles (145 km) northwest of London, is intended to become one of the world’s foremost automotive product, engineering and design sites, underscoring the automaker’s plans for global growth.

JLR Property Programs Director Chris Elliott says the facility will include design centers for both Jaguar and Land Rover.

“The new space will centralize our design, product-engineering and purchasing functions in an original and modern environment, as well as creating additional capacity for the future,” Elliott says in a statement.

During the past five years, the automaker has added more than 20,000 people to its payroll, doubling its global workforce to more than 40,000.