So far the plan is limited to a letter of intent to begin a feasibility study and the company was quick to tell the BBC that any production taking place there would be in addition to its manufacturing operations in the UK.
The move does however follow comments about the current state of British manufacturing and the supply chain by Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Group which includes parent company of JLR, Tata Motors.
He told The Daily Telegraph that: “The economic situation, the high cost of undertaking manufacturing, the supply chain – which is dying out as manufacturing undergoes hardship – make the UK not the first place you would look at to make a manufacturing investment.”
Tata Motors have already made the move to Saudi Arabia following the construction of the world’s largest aluminium smelting factory.
In an interview with Autocar India, Ratan Tata, said “This smelter could make the production of aluminium in Saudi Arabia very competitive.
“So taking a really long-term view, if we put an assembly plant there with a large press shop, given our commitment to aluminium in our products, we could have an interesting business case, which we are examining today.”
