Jaguar Land Rover to Launch 8 New Models in 2013, to Double Jobs at i54 Plant

Luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover is planning to launch eight new models in 2013 with billions of pounds of investment and to increase investment at its new UK engine plant, doubling employment there to about 1,400.

At the Geneva International Motor Show, the company owned by India's Tata Motors announced that it would invest £2.75bn ($4.16bn, €3.19bn) in product creation in 2013-2014, as it looks to unveil eight new products.

The company plans to launch the Jaguar F-TYPE and to introduce the world's first nine-speed gearbox in its Land Rover product line-up.

JLR's total investment at its new engine manufacturing centre at the i54 business park near Wolverhampton would be more than £500m as against the 2011 budget of £355m investment and 750 jobs.

The new plant will produce a new generation of "technologically advanced, lightweight 4-cylinder low emission diesel and petrol engines," according to the company. It will open later this year with the first engines coming off the production line in 2015.

"Jaguar Land Rover's new Engine Manufacturing Centre in the UK is a clear demonstration of our business strategy guiding our investment plans,"Jaguar Land Rover's CEO Ralf Speth said during the show.

"Not only does it bring our engine supply back to our production doorstep, but it gives us significant new resource as we continue to innovate with new products and markets."

JLR has witnessed a rise in demand for its luxury saloons and SUVs over the past two years, notably in China and other emerging markets, while other European automakers suffered from the economic crisis, resulting in plant shutdowns and production declines. In 2012, the company sold 357,773 vehicles, up 30 percent from 2011.

The company, which employs 25,000 people globally, is also investigating the possibilities of manufacturing cars from scratch in India, according to a company source cited by Reuters.