http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20384431

The nails in the coffin me thinks  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

This is great News for JLR in my opinion!

China is a huge and growing market - to be able to establish themselves there and satisfy Asian demand can only be fantastic financially for the company. As JLR prospers, so will the quality of their products (hopefully). Current car: Porsche 911 Carrera S PDK (997.2) Past Car: (MY12) Range Rover Sport HSE SDV6 - Orkney Grey with Almond interior
Bike:Ducati Monster 1100 EVO

Not great news for the british workforce, the british suppliers and the british tax payer who will need to pay more to fund the benefits of more unemployed  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

Why must it mean terrible news for the British workforce?

JLR has recently invested £370 mill in Solihull, supports 190 000 jobs and spending some £800 million odd with British companies. There is absolutely no evidence that JLR will reduce any local output as the UK supports the UK, US and European markets.

To make their product more attractive to the Asian market, having a domestic factory there removes or reduces import duties and allows them to meet the demand there. This doesn't mean cars will be imported from there to the UK at all.

I don't see BMW or Germany suffering domestically because they have factories in the USA.

Anyway, some Land Rover products are already assembled overseas for foreign markets. Current car: Porsche 911 Carrera S PDK (997.2) Past Car: (MY12) Range Rover Sport HSE SDV6 - Orkney Grey with Almond interior
Bike:Ducati Monster 1100 EVO

As much as I agree

I do wonder if this is the thin edge of a wedge eventually accumulating in all LR cars being built in China.

Call me a sceptic, but it's been done so many times before by other British manufacturers RRS gone
Audi SQ5...Gone Audi Q7 S-Line 240 3.0TDI Gone
Audi A6 Allroad Sport 270 3.0TDI

AIUI, its to expand into the chinese market, as there is a ridiculous import tax, which effectively prices them out of the competition.

IMHO, I think it is great they are expanding into new markets. After all, more customers = more profit (usually )

Thew new factory will obviously have new equipment 'state of the art' robotic machines and assembly techniques and - just like in the 1950's - when Japan and Germany had new factories( because we'd flattened the old ones) - the better manufacturing tolerances and quality control produced more reliable cars.

Add to that the low labour costs and it would be hard for TATA to ignore the greater profitability potential by increasing the volume throughput in these plants thus doing more and more manufacturing in China.

The only question is how long?

There is an open commitment and need to make cars in the uk.

Also some of the uk kit is new and advanced...techniques are also always revised Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

JLR better be careful with quality if they are planning to build and sell more and more in China. Bet they don't want to see a repeat of this or this

Thin end of the wedge - not because I think they'll move all production to China but because I think they'll move production from the UK elsewhere in time. China probably has a big enough market to make it worth building a local factory to get around import restrictions.

I can see LR deciding that building the vehicles in e.g. Turkey (as Ford are with the Transit) will mean higher profits because of lower staffing overheads. If it improves reliability too then it'll be win:win for everyone. Except people in Solihull of course.

I wonder if they might phase such a scheme by producing CKD kits in the UK for building in e.g. India and then producing the CKD kits in India for building in the UK and then just building everything in India (or where ever they decide to go). 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

This is what happens when international trade relies on a level playing field; but we're not bright enough to realise when some play by the rules and others don't.

UK should have import taxes just like the countries who send/sell us cheap stuff; but no we'll keep playing by the rules and be very honourable while getting royally shafted in the process.

While we keep allowing anyone from the EU (and pretty much everywhere else) who can't afford to live in their own country to come here and we'll give them money, pay for their houses and give them free medical care for their pregnant wives and all their extended family still living abroad etc etc.

When they've been here a few year illegally we'll let them stay. When will we wise up?

I cant seem to find fault with that you know Mike

2014 Facelift Discovery

Maybe when we order a new RRS it won't take 3 months or more 2012 RRS Autobiography, Fuji White all the toys
2011 Audi RS5

I wonder how much of the economic migration would disappear if we stopped funding Brits to sit on their arses at home all day instead of working? These people should be doing to jobs that the economic migrants do. That would be doubling beneficial for the economy. That would play in to the red-top readers' minds, anyway.

Actually, I think the much bigger picture is that we, in the West, have dug ourselves a very large hole since the Second World War. That hole is called consumerism and we have embraced it fully. The result is that we have wanted to spend more on trivia (i.e. stuff not essential to life e.g. food, housing) and this driven a spiral of wage increases. These wage increases drove manufacturing out of the UK and in to countries with lower employee costs. Ever increasing additional costs (holiday entitlement, sickness benefits, NI contributions, safer working conditions etc.) have added to the impetus on business to use foreign workers where possible. Add a Govt forced to increase taxation to pay for a huge social health and welfare system and the pressure can not be contained.

Our parents sowed the problem, we have fed it and now we, along with our children, will have to reap the painful harvest.

There is a bitter irony in us sitting here using our computers to chat, on a forum for luxury cars, about how terrible it is that the system is falling apart because of cheap labour etc elsewhere in the world when it is our desires that have fed that cheap labour.

The reality is that the UK is doomed to slide ever further in to decline unless we wake up to the fact that we need to pay people, everyone, much less. And in order to do that we must all accept a lower standard of living (at least in terms of luxury goods). We either get massively cheaper to employ or the country dies a slow death. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Tata is investing $billions in JLR on production lines, engine plants and R&D in the UK. They are not going to simply up stick

China is one of the largest automotive growth areas, that needs UK skills to build and run factories for their home market. This will mean JLR will have more cash coming in to fund their product line, which in turn will lead to more jobs in the UK (where do you think the cars are designed ?) and more investment in old blighty to build the cars for the European markets.

Jon Jon Witts
2013 RR Sport HSE Black Edition
2012 RR Sport HSE - Gone
2006 RS4 Avant - Gone and missed
1988 Defender 90 - Competition truck
2011 Tiguan