New Jaguars to be manufactured in Austria

Jaguar has for decades been the flagship of the British motoring industry, however, new models will not be produced in Merseyside or the Midlands, but will instead be manufactured in Graz, Austria.

Jaguar Land Rover has revealed that it has signed a deal with Magna Steyr, the Canadian automotive manufacturing group, and will be using use its plants and facilities in Graz.

The company has declined to comment on which makes and models will be produced in Austria, according to The Times.

The Jaguar XF, one of Jaguars latest models, is made in the UK, but new vehicles in the pipeline include a soft-top Range Rover Evoque, a mini Range Rover and various iterations of the Freelander and Discovery models, and the Magna Steyr plant has experience in such vehicles.

Graz already makes the Countryman, the four-wheel drive supersized Mini for BMW, and a Land Rover lookalike, the Mercedes G-Class.

Ralf Speth, the chief executive, argued that the Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood plants in the UK, which helped the company build 462,000 vehicles last year, were reaching capacity.

“The UK remains at the centre of design, engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Partnerships . . . will complement our UK operations,” he said.