Engineering news
Jaguar Land Rover is to double the size of its Engine Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton to 200,000sq m after just one year of operation.
The centre employs 700 people and has produced more than 50,000 engines in the past year. It makes the low emission Ingenium engine, the first engine designed and manufactured by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) in-house since the Td5 five-cylinder diesel ceased production in Solihull in 2007.
The £450 million investment at the Wolverhampton plant will create “several hundred” new jobs and raises total investment at the site by JLR to £1 billion.
Dr Ralf Speth, chief executive of JLR, said: “The Engine Manufacturing Centre is a strategically significant facility for Jaguar Land Rover. The decision to expand our operations at the site provides a clear signal of our commitment to meeting customer demand for cleaner and more efficient engines, whilst developing the skills and capability that Britain needs if it is to remain globally competitive.”
Rachel Eade, automotive lead for the Business Growth Service, welcomed the investment: “As well as the hundreds of jobs set to be created at the plant, there will no doubt be additional spin-offs in the supply chain and we expect our SMEs to be in an ideal position to take advantage of increased volumes and new opportunities.
“According to industry sources we could well be on course to match the 1970s peak of two million cars by the end of the decade.”
The Ingenium engine launched initially with the 2.0 litre diesel variant in the Jaguar XE earlier this year. The plant now supplies engines to all three UK vehicle plants, with the engine powering the Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque and the Jaguar XF.
Ingenium was developed at JLR's Whitley and Gaydon facilities. The engine uses aluminium blocks for both diesel and petrol versions which share the same bore, stroke, cylinder spacing and 500cc cylinder capacity to enable configurability and flexibility to meet future requirements.
All diesel and petrol Ingenium variants are equipped with turbochargers to improve performance, as well as central direct high-pressure fuel injection, variable valve timing and start-stop technology.
The engine also has a modular design. Both petrol and diesel engines share many common internal components and calibration strategies. Furthermore, the engine can accommodate a range of powertrain layouts, including rear-, all- and four-wheel drive and has been developed to support future technologies, such as electrified hybrid drive systems when they become available.