Press Report : First locally-built Land Rover SUV goes on sale in China

Automotive News China

The first Chinese-made Land Rover, the Evoque compact SUV, went on sale in China last Monday.

First Chinese built Evoque has now gone on sale
First Chinese built Evoque has now gone on sale

The vehicle has a starting price of 448,200 yuan ($72,290), according to its manufacturer, Chery Jaguar Land Rover Co. Limited.

The Evoque is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine mated with a nine-speed automatic transmission. It is 4,355 mm long, 1,900 mm wide and 1,635 mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2,660 mm.

Chery Jaguar Land Rover, located in Changshu in east China’s Jiangsu province, is a 50-50 joint venture between Chery Automobile Co. and Jaguar Land Rover.

Another Land Rover model produced by the joint venture will go on sale later this year. It will be followed by a Jaguar model next year. Further details have yet to be released.

Last year, Jaguar Land Rover sales in China surged 28 percent to 122,010 units – all were imports.

Clive Goldthorp

24 Comments

  1. 122,000 units is a staggering number when you consider where JLR have come from, though a fraction of what the Germans sell.

  2. I am curious are these ckds? Or are they doing full pressing assembly etc. That’s one quickly built factory! Alex

      • All the German manufacturers have factories in China. Do they seem to be doing so badly? Are Bavarians or Swabians being cast out onto the streets? No.

        Is it economic to make a car in the UK or Germany, export it to China, and pay all the duties designed to dissuade you? No.

        Do we have to adapt our thinking when doing business with the Chinese? Yes.
        For some reason they don’t want to buy our opium anymore.

          • Indeed. Most big successful companies have factories around the world. Provided the HQ, management, significant production and R&D remain here then it can only be a good idea. BMW/MB/VW make cars in the UK, US, SA, China etc. Triumph have a plant in Thailand. I would be concerned if JLR do not have plants outside the UK.

    • You miserable ****** .This plant has been opened to get round local import tariffs. Exactly the same way every other Western importer has done in China. No different in that respect to BMC manufacturing in Belgium, Spain and Italy in the ’60s before Britain joined the Common Market. If your Neanderthal view of the world was true why is JLR currently adding another 3000 posts to their UK workforce and opening new plants in Wolverhampton and Solihull?

  3. The Chinese plant will not help the UK one jot. JLR is Indian owned and quoted so all profits remain in Asia.

    The mention of a German presence in foreign countries overlooks the fact BMW is German owned/quoted and profits remain in Germany.

    • Yes it will. R&D done here. Some UK made parts will go there. Yes JLR is Indian owned and thankfully believing in UK engineering. If you do not like then owners then we should collectively take the blame and include Clarkson to Byers, Harriman to Stokes, Benn to Thatcher, Unions to Management etc. etc. Tata are doing a great job in investing in the UK. Can you do better?

  4. They’re also building a plant in Brazil – it’s commonplace in the car industry these days as it’s such a globalised entity. Build where you sell.

    In terms of JLR’s expansion plans, the current factories can’t supply enough cars to keep up with demand in emerging or newly emerged markets, plus, having a plant in China means access to some of the same rights as a ‘domestic’ manufacturer, no cap on sales volumes and it keeps the government happy.

    I doubt that a Chinese-made Jaguar or Land Rover will ever be sold on British shores. But then again, there was a day when I’d have said that about MG…

  5. Does anyone know the amount of British-made content in these?

    At least, if final assembly is in China, some parts might still be made here.

    • I imagine the British content will be high, low lower than the Chinese content in a Longbridge-built MG6 🙂

  6. Interesting article in the Telegraph today about China’s economy tanking due to debt/risk of deflation, although if I were JLR I would be equally worried about the Saudi aluminium supply proposal.

    Not sure what all the fuss is about the Brazilian factory – they were building Defenders there 20 years ago with local engines.

  7. @Merlin Milner
    You miss my point. Presently JLR sell UK-produced Evoques to China. Bring on stream the Chinese plant those UK exports cease, ditto exports to the USA when/if they open a USA plant. JLR will then naturally expand foreign production across the whole range further restricting UK exports. At best this will leave the UK with the presently moribund European market.

    The R&D may remain here for now, but it may not be a given in 20 years time. Components/engines will probably end up being locally made. All of the above is great for Tata but less good for the UK economy. Corporation Tax will not be paid in the UK with profits heading to India.

    Will JLR be another Ford? Massive presence in the UK 40 years ago, nothing now.

    • You can make the same arguments about, BMW, MB, VW and the similar effects upon Germany. We live in a different world to 40 year ago. For JLR to survive it has to a global make with international factories. I agree about the ownership but we cannot blame Tata. As I said we collectively are to blame for the demise of UK ownership. Do you have a better business model than JLR?

      • Ford still have a big presence in the UK. Where do many of Ford’s engines come from? They still have a large R&D outfit here too.

  8. I fully understand the need for JLR to have a local production plant, though the only reason for Chery being onboard is the Chinese government’s insistence. The Chinese protect their own markets and manufacturing in the way that we don’t. I can imagine JLR being reluctant to share any more technology with Chery than they absolutely have to.

    It’s good to see JLR there though, even under these, slightly contrived, circumstances.

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