Currently reading: Jaguar XE production moves to Castle Bromwich

£100m investment spurred by sales success of Jaguar F-Pace and Range Rover Sport

Jaguar XE production will move from the firm's Solihull plant to its Castle Bromwich facility as a result of booming sales.

Latest figures for mid-August show Jaguar sales have hit 85,726 units for the year so far, an increase of 72% on 2015. That figure is primarily driven by the launch of the Jaguar F-Pace and has been buoyed by the Jaguar XE going on sale in the US.

Production of the XE is currently split 60:40 between Solihull and Castle Bromwich, with the latter having taken on some of the production since the end of the summer shutdown. That division between the two plants will remain until around the end of the next fiscal year in April 2017, when Castle Bromwich will take on the full XE build. 

The move to manufacture the XE in Castle Bromwich - which will result in £100m of investment in the plant - frees up the Solihull plant to focus on production of the Jaguar F-Pace and Range Rover Sport. Both those cars and the XE are built on Jaguar's latest aluminium architecture, allowing the production line to be switched between models. The £100m will be spent on new press lines, body shops and final assembly halls. Around 3000 people are employed at Castle Bromwich, under the leadership of operations director Nicolas Guibert.

Wolfgang Stadler, Jaguar Land Rover's Executive Director of Manufacturing, said: "The significant investment to create two centres of excellence in aluminium vehicle manufacturing, utilising shared technologies, was deliberate. It gives us the flexibility to quickly respond to consumer demand for our growing range of products."

Jaguar's Castle Bromwich plant was slated for closure in 2008 when company bosses announced that they would be forced to close one of its two UK production facilities. However, company bosses eventually reversed the decision, and have invested more than £500m there over the last two years. The Jaguar XF, Jaguar F-Type and Jaguar XJ are also built at Castle Bromwich.

Jaguar Land Rover's Solihull plant will continue to operate three shifts, 24 hours a day, to keep up with global demand for the F-Pace and Range Rover Sport. It hasn't yet been decided whether Castle Bromwich will now switch from its current two-shift pattern to three.

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rickerby 16 September 2016

I don't know whether the XE

I don't know whether the XE is meeting its sales targets or not, but let's face it in the current markets cars in this class only shift with massive incentives. Just look how much you can get off a C class, A4 or 3 series. Moving the XE to be built alongside its XF sister at Castle Bromwich to free up space at the new Solihull facility for the F Pace and Land Rover sister vehicle that they can sell all day long at list sounds like sound commercial,logic to me
Bishop 12 September 2016

Is the quite what it seems?

I don't want to come over all 'Mulder and Scully', but I wonder what the real story is here? Another way of reading it is that the XE is selling below original target and so its production is being flexed to fit into overall schedules - hence being the subject of a previously unplanned production move. Such moves are rarely good for maintaining or improving standards of build quality ...
Mikey C 12 September 2016

A combination perhaps...

Of slightly disappointing sales for the XE and soaring sales of the F-Pace. The XE and XF are very similar, so it makes sense to build them together, but I imagine JLR didn't think Castle Bromwich could cope. The F-Pace I think will be a real sales winner, great looking and just what the market wants.
koyaanisqatsi 12 September 2016

not so sure...

Bishop wrote:

I don't want to come over all 'Mulder and Scully', but I wonder what the real story is here? Another way of reading it is that the XE is selling below original target and so its production is being flexed to fit into overall schedules - hence being the subject of a previously unplanned production move. Such moves are rarely good for maintaining or improving standards of build quality ...

maybe XE sales are lower than expected, until we get the full range of engines (v6/s6 diesels) it's difficult to know (extra body styles would help too, 3series production is over half a million these days!). Could be: XF sales are low also? hardly surprising as the interiors of both cars are so drab/dark/plain ; imagine if they had gone for the interior of the F-Pace "concept car".

More likely though is they are making way for the Range Rover "Coupe" which is simply a rebodied F-Pace so has to share the same line… But it's good news for XE quality as Castle Bromwich has a far better quality record than Solihull; and Jaguars should be built there anyway.

BertoniBertone 12 September 2016

Focus on F-Pace.....

I think you're right here. Once the hype for the XE died down.....and my word, it died down quickly didn't it....I think it's going the way of its more 'marginal' stablemates. Hopefully, the XE is 'wiping its face' and doing the heavy-lifting as a donor vehicle to the F-Pace. F-Pace are popping up everywhere. I saw a German registered one this August on Rab Island in Croatia which speaks volumes for its impact. Can you imagine that ever happening to the XE ? All in all, fingers crossed, that Jag's model mix will now allow them to grow and make money, too....
TStag 12 September 2016

Great news for Castle Brom. I

Great news for Castle Brom. I can't help but wonder if JLR will shortly announce that they will build another UK car factory. The new factory in Slovakia is likely to make the new higher volume Defender and I seriously doubt that with a capacity of 150,000 they will be able to accommodate all of the new models JLR plan to make.

Rumours are rife that a new factory will be announced in Coventry, but those rumours were pre Brexit....

Mikey C 13 September 2016

JLR have big plans for a site

JLR have big plans for a site opposite their Whitley development centre, which could have a new assembly line...