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Jaguar Land Rover moves closer to building Slovakia plant

Jaguar Land Rover has announced its intention to build a new assembly plant in Slovakia. Though it has yet to make the final decision, the British automaker has signed a Letter of Intent with the Slovakian government. Its next step is to launch a feasibility study before committing. If the company does go ahead with plans, it wouldn't be the first automaker – or even the first European luxury automaker for that matter – to start producing in Slovakia. Nor would it be the first Jaguar Land Rover plant outside the UK, either. The Volkswagen Group, PSA Peugeot Citroen, and Kia all manufacture in the Central European country. VW's Bratislava plant in particular handles production of the Touareg, Audi Q7, and Porsche Cayenne. In the past few years, JLR has expanded its production capacity to new locations outside of the UK. It has a new factory in China, one under construction in Brazil, and has been manufacturing in India – home country of its parent company Tata – since 2011. It recently announced a manufacturing contract with Magna Steyr in Austria, and is investing in its facilities back home as well. Though yet to be finalized, the prospect of manufacturing in Slovakia has proven more favorable to JLR than other locations in Europe or in the United States or Mexico – all possibilities that the company says it looked into. It has yet to reveal just what it would produce there, saying only that "the plant would manufacture a range of aluminium Jaguar Land Rover vehicles," that the plant would be earmarked to come online in 2018 and eventually ramp up production to 300,000 vehicles. The prevailing wisdom would seem to indicate, however, that the site is being considered for the next-generation Land Rover Defender. Related Video: JAGUAR LAND ROVER UNVEILS NEXT STAGE OF GLOBAL EXPANSION PLANS - Letter of Intent signed for potential new plant in the Slovak Republic - Indicates the next stage of the Company's expansion plans to support a competitive global business in the future - Jaguar Land Rover's global expansion underpins long-term investment in new vehicles and technologies in the UK Coventry, UK – Jaguar Land Rover has signed a Letter of Intent with the Government of the Slovak Republic for the potential development of a new manufacturing plant in the city of Nitra in western Slovakia. With its established premium automotive industry, Slovakia is an attractive possible development opportunity.

Jaguar details XE for North America

Jaguar is bringing the XE to North America next spring, and in advance of its arrival, the British automaker is giving us more details on its new compact sports sedan. The top engine choice is dubbed the XE 35t, which is a little misleading since its tried-and-tested 3.0-liter V6 is actually supercharged, not turbocharged. Regardless of the manner of forced induction, its 340 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque are claimed to propel the XE to 60 miles per hour in 4.9 seconds on its way to an electronically limited top speed of 155 miles per hour. Buyers looking for something more frugal at the pump may be more interested in the other engine option. The XE 20d adopts Jaguar's new Ingenium diesel, a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four good for 180 hp and 318 lb-ft of torque. That's quoted for a 0-60 time of 7.4 seconds and a top speed of 140 mph. Both are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. All-wheel drive will also be available on both versions, but come by default in rear-drive form. Buyers will also have the choice among three trim levels, staring with Premium, moving up to Prestige and on to R-Sport with satin chrome and gloss black trim, a rear spoiler and 20-inch alloys. Pricing is set to be announced closer to launch, but for now you can scope out the details in the press release below, and watch this space for our upcoming drive report to follow our earlier report. JAGUAR XE ALL-NEW COMPACT SPORTS SEDAN TO EXPAND JAGUAR U.S. LINEUP IN 2016 - All-new Jaguar XE sports sedan to arrive in U.S.

Land Rover planning SVX hardcore off-roaders

The new Special Vehicle Operations division at Jaguar Land Rover has already given us an array of ultimate wheeled creations, but it isn't quite done yet. Next, according to Car and Driver, will be a new line of SVX models. Not to be confused with the Subaru coupe from the 1990s (which also had all-wheel drive, come to think of it), Land Rover's SVX models will be hardcore off-roaders. Details are few and far between at the moment, but they're said to take inspiration from rough-terrain events like the Dakar Rally and Camel Trophy as inspiration – different from the Ford F-150 Raptor that takes its cues from the Baja 1000. Last we heard, Land Rover was planning a hardcore Defender to send the model off to pasture in high-performance style, and considering an extreme Range Rover as well. If either of those rumors materialize, they look like they'd be prime candidates for the SVX line. JLR Special Vehicle Operations has already showcased what it can do with the high-performance Range Rover Sport SVR, the luxed-up Range Rover SVAutobiography, the exclusive F-Type Project 7 and the continuation classic Lightweight E-Type. C/D confirms that further SVR models are in store to replace Jaguar's R-S performance models, while the SVX line would likely remain exclusive to Land Rover.