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Jaguar opens new engine plant in the UK

The heads of Jaguar Land Rover are having a busy couple of weeks opening factories. Just days after inaugurating the company's first overseas plant in China, the automaker's new Engine Manufacturing Center in the UK is being inaugurated, as well. The plant near Wolverhampton, England, marks the first time in decades that JLR is building its own powerplants in-house. Further signaling the importance of this launch for the business, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were on hand and even tweeted about it.
The factory's first major project is to build JLR's latest Ingenium four-cylinders, starting with the 2.0-liter diesel version. "Our new Engine Manufacturing Centre is an important step in advancing the competitiveness and capability of the UK automotive sector. The production of in-house engines will support the expansion of the UK supply chain providing critical mass for inward investment," said Trevor Leeks, plant operations director in the automaker's announcement.
Opening the doors to the Engine Manufacturing Center has been years in the making for JLR. The plant was first announced in September 2011 and broke ground in June 2012. Building it cost the company 500 million pounds ($800 million) and created 1,400 new jobs. Of course, being a state-of-the-art factory, considerations were made to make the place as energy efficient as possible. That meant installing the UK's largest solar array with 21,000 panels to produce about 30 percent of the site's electricity needs.

Jaguar to follow up with larger J-Pace crossover

Jaguar is about to launch its first foray into the crossover market (that's the C-X17 Concept you see above) with the upcoming debut of the F-Pace, but that won't be its last. According to the UK's Car magazine, plans are already underway to launch a bigger J-Pace crossover as well. Just as the F-Pace is set to serve as the high-riding counterpart to the XF sedan, so too would the J-Pace align itself with the upcoming new XJ – in a strategy not unlike what Mercedes is taking with its crossovers, aligning the GLE (nee M-Class) with the E-Class, the upcoming GLS (GL-Class) to the S-Class and so on. That would make the J-Pace a rival to the likes of the aforementioned GLS and Audi Q7. Tipped to launch in 2019, the Jaguar J-Pace is expected to borrow its aluminum underpinnings from the flagship Range Rover, but take a sportier, more dynamic approach than the top-of-the-line Landie. Expect V6 and V8 engines to be offered, alongside diesel and hybrid powertrain options. The J-Pace has reportedly won out over other proposals to expand the XJ family with coupe, convertible and wagon variants, as the crossover is expected to drive higher sales. Here's hoping those revenues could be poured back into those back-burnered projects, too. Related Video:

Jaguar Land Rover rescues British off-road tuner Bowler

Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicles Operation (SVO) rescued British off-road tuner Bowler from an uncertain fate. The firm has worked with Land Rover in the past, but it has always been independent. While JLR isn't in an ideal position to make acquisitions, and its recent financial troubles are well documented, Bowler was on the brink of shutting down. The small, 34-year old company had entered administration, and the 26 people it employed risked losing their jobs. Monetary details haven't been released, meaning we don't know how much Bowler was worth, but the firm pointed out it's now fully owned by SVO. It joins SV, Vehicle Personalization, and Classic as the division's fourth pillar. It's too early to tell precisely where Bowler will fit in the JLR latticework, because the initial focus will be on stabilizing the company. It will remain based in Belper, England, and every member of its full-time staff has been offered a position as a JLR employee. Bowler made a name for itself by turning the original Defender into a rally car, and Land Rover said the expertise it acquired during decades of racing is highly sought after, so that's a hint we'll see more hardcore models developed jointly by the two companies sooner or later. The new Defender would lend itself well to the Bowler treatment. The Bowler name could replace the SVX nameplate used on the stillborn, V8-powered Discovery, for example. The tuner's focus on off-pavement performance means we're unlikely to see a Bowler-badged Jaguar, but anything is possible as global demand for SUVs (especially quick ones) continues to rise. What's certain is that, once Bowler is stable, it will grow bigger.