Land Rover to add 1,000 jobs; will launch Evoque

Tata Motors-owned Land Rover said on Friday it will add 1,000 new jobs at its Halewood facility to produce its upcoming sports utility vehicle -- Range Rover Evoque, which will hit the market in 2011.

"The all-new Range Rover Evoque will be built at our multi-award winning plant in Halewood, creating 1,000 new jobs in the Merseyside area, a fantastic boost to the UK economy," Land Rover managing director Phil Popham said.

The British marque had earlier announced to add 275 new jobs at its production facility at Solihull in West Midlands to meet rising demand after sales improved for several months. Land Rover currently employs 9,500 people and supports a further 40,000 jobs in the supply chain.

The company will introduce the new SUV in its list of offerings in 2011 as part of Range Rover's 40th anniversary celebrations, the statement said.

The Range Rover Evoque will make its global public debut at the Paris Motor Show in September this year, it added.

"The all-new Range Rover Evoque is a true global car and will be sold in over 160 countries. . . Customers can be confident that the new car will be premium, luxurious and just as special as the other Range Rover models," Popham said.

The company will introduce the new SUV in both 2-wheel drive (2WD) and 4-wheel drive options.

In 2WD technology, the transmission is distributed only to either the front or rear two wheels of the vehicle, while it is distributed equally to all the four wheels in 4WD category.

For driving in difficult terrains, 4WD is preferred. Last month the company announced to launch a limited edition of Range Rover, featuring special design elements.

It will produce just 700 units of the new SUV -- Autobiography Black 40th Anniversary Limited Edition.

Land Rover had also said it would launch two advanced diesel versions of Range Rover in the UK by September this year.

Besides, it had said that its first diesel hybrid SUV would hit the roads by 2013, for which testing of the prototype named 'range_e' would start this year-end.

In September last year, with the global economic recovery on the horizon, Jaguar Land Rover had announced a decade-long new business strategy that would see 800 million pounds (over Rs 6,200 crore) investment going for developing eco-friendly products. Earlier, hit by the global economic crisis and a slump in the auto industry, JLR's production had declined drastically and it laid off 2,500 workers after Tata Motors took over the brand from Ford in 2008.

Pays of JLR employees were frozen and bonuses canceled for others during that period.

Image: Land Rover