Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has revealed a £500 million investment to upgrade its historic Halewood facility, enabling the simultaneous production of electric vehicles alongside its current combustion and hybrid models.
Originally built in 1963 to produce the Ford Anglia, Halewood is being transformed for the electric era.
With £250m already invested, the transformation so far has involved over one million hours of construction work over the past 12 months. The site has been extended by 32,364 sqm to produce JLR’s medium-sized electric luxury SUVs on the new Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) platform.
The historic plant has been fitted with technology including new EV build lines, 750 autonomous robots, ADAS calibration rigs, laser alignment technology for perfect part fitment and the latest cloud-based digital plant management systems to oversee production, creating the ‘factory of the future’.
This investment is part of JLR’s Reimagine strategy, which will see it electrify all its brands by 2030, with the aim of achieving carbon net zero across our supply chain, products, and operations by 2039.
Electrification is central to this strategy and Halewood has an exciting future producing ICE, PHEV and BEV models side by side before eventually becoming JLR’s first all-electric production facility.
Additional transformational work to accommodate different-sized electric vehicles includes:
New body shop capable of producing 500 vehicle bodies per day
4km of the paint shop has been modified with the expansion of ovens and conveyors to respond to increased demand for contrasting roofs
Construction of new automated painted body storage tower capable of storing 600 painted vehicle bodies
Final production line has been increased in length from 4km to 6km to accommodate battery fitment
Vehicle build stations extended to seven metres to facilitate the different proportions of the new EMA electric vehicles
40 New Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) introduced to assist employees with the fitment of high-voltage batteries
Delivered High Voltage Training to over 1,600 employees
£16m worth of viable equipment from JLR’s Castle Bromwich site, ranging from ABB robots to automated guided vehicles has been integrated for reuse at the new facility
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has unveiled a significant £500 million investment to transform its historic Halewood manufacturing facility into a state-of-the-art electric vehicle production hub as part of a “Reimagine” strategy which will fully electrify its product lineup by 2030.
The Halewood plant, originally established in 1963 to produce the iconic Ford Anglia, has undergone a substantial overhaul in recent years. With an additional £250 million already invested, the facility has been expanded by over 32 000 square meters to accommodate the production of JLR’s medium-sized electric luxury SUVs on the new Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) platform.
The transformation has involved the installation of cutting-edge technology, including new EV assembly lines, 750 autonomous robots, advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) calibration rigs, and laser alignment technology. These innovations have earned Halewood the reputation of a “factory of the future.”