Jaguar Land Rover has opened its first assembly plant in the city of Pune in India to assemble Land Rover Freelander 2 vehicles.

The facility will assemble the vehicles supplied in complete knock down (CKD) form from Jaguar Land Rover's Halewood manufacturing plant in Liverpool, UK.

"Today marks a significant step in our growth strategy for the Indian market,” said Carl-Peter Forster, chief executive officer and MD of Tata Motors, which owns the British automotive business.

“The opening of this plant demonstrates close co-operation between the parent company Tata Motors and Jaguar Land Rover and we are keen to develop this further,” he added.

Dr Ralf Speth, chief executive officer of Jaguar Land Rover, said: "Jaguar Land Rover is delighted to have officially opened our first assembly facility in India. We are excited about the prospect of assembling cars in Pune for the Indian market where we have achieved significant growth since we opened our first showroom in 2009.”

“It is a great time to be expanding our operation in India due to the increasing demand for luxury products and the strength of the Indian economy."

The facility in Pune will be subject to Jaguar Land Rover's mainstream launch quality processes and will be overseen by experienced manufacturing and quality managers who have moved to India from the UK.

The award winning Freelander 2 (LR2) is available in India in two variants, the TD4 SE automatic and the SD4 HSE automatic. The prices start at $72,873 (ex-showroom price in Mumbai, pre-octroi), a statement said.

The new range of premium luxury vehicles available for the Indian market includes the Jaguar XJ, XF, and XK, the Land Rover Freelander 2, Discovery 4, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover. – TradeArabia News Service