Aluminum Architecture Key to JLR Expansion in U.K.

Jaguar Land Rover is adding 1,700 jobs at its U.K. manufacturing facility as part of a £1.5 billion ($2.35 billion) expansion program that will see the introduction of an all-new technically advanced aluminum vehicle architecture in forthcoming models.

CEO Ralf Speth, who made the announcement at the Frankfurt auto show today, says the move signals the auto maker’s ambitions to push the boundaries and redefine premium car ownership.

“The introduction of a world class all-new aluminum vehicle architecture means we will be more competitive, flexible and efficient delivering exciting new products for our customers around the world,” Speth says.

“This investment and level of job creation is yet further evidence of our commitment to advancing the capability of the U.K. automotive sector and its supply chain.”

The first new model to use the new architecture will be an all-new midsize Jaguar sports sedan to be launched in 2015. It will feature the first engine to be built at JLR’s new £500 million ($784.6 million) engine-manufacturing center. The plant will build the auto maker’s new family of high-output, fuel-efficient gasoline and diesel engines.

The new jobs at JLR’s Solihull site in the Midlands will bring the total number of U.K. manufacturing jobs announced by the auto maker, owned by India’s Tata conglomerate, in the past three years to almost 11,000.

Prime Minister David Cameron says the JLR investment also will create 24,000 jobs in the supply chain.

“Our motoring industry is world-class, right out there at the front of the global race, and Jaguar Land Rover is a great example of that British excellence,” Cameron says in a statement. “One vehicle rolls off a production line somewhere in the U.K. every 20 seconds.”