Jaguar-Land Rover Opens Assembly Plant in India, Rolls Out its First Model [with Video]

Gone are the times when you knew where cars were made just by looking at the brand, and when luxury carmakers made the manufacturing of their vehicles in their home country one of their top selling points. Nowadays, you have BMWs built in China, India, South Africa and the USA, Mercedes-Benz cars made in Russia, Thailand and Egypt and so on. The latest premium automaker to go global is the Jaguar-Land Rover group, which inaugurated its first Indian factory on Friday. A Land Rover Freelander 2 SUV was the first vehicle to roll out of the assembly plant, which is located just outside Pune in the Maharashtra region of India. We’ll remind you that Ford Motor Co. sold Jaguar and Land Rover to India’s Tata Motors in 2008 after losing some US$15 billion in two years.
Tata Motors believes that the assembly of Land Rover models in India will help the company better compete against rivals such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, all of which already build vehicles in the booming South Asian country.
“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,” said Dr Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover. “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 Pune facility will assemble Land Rover Freelander 2 vehicles supplied in Complete Knock Down (CKD) form sourced from the British firm’s Halewood manufacturing plant in Liverpool, UK. The SUV will be available in India in two variants, the TD4 SE Automatic and the SD4 HSE Automatic, with local prices starting from INR 3.39 million, or around 15 percent lower than the current imported models.
Recent media reports have suggested that Jaguar Land Rover is also looking into building a new engine plant in India, but the company has not yet confirmed the news.

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PHOTO GALLERY

Land Rover Ad Suggests you can get Away with Anything Inside an LR4

Land Rover vehicles are known for offering a high level of security to their occupants, but does that apply only to traffic accidents? Well, if we are to believe a new U.S. campaign for the LR4/Discovery SUV, the feeling of safety inspired by a Land Rover vehicle goes well beyond road accidents.Take for instance, the first commercial called “Pathological Liar”, where a man that lies as often as he breathes decides to confess the truth to his girlfriend. But he can only do this in the safety of his LR4, much like the police officer in the second ad, called “Dirty Cops.” The third one is a little older, but it belongs to the same campaign. We won't tell you anything more except it's called “Sword Collector”. Scroll down to see the all three adverts.

By Dan Mihalascu

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VIDEO: New Range Rover Evoque 5-Door Launch Film

Now that Land Rover has unleashed most of the details surrounding its new Range Rover Evoque 5-door, the British company is turning its attention on promoting the crossover model to the social media. Beginning from Wednesday, December 1st, the automaker will share a new animated film of the five-door Evoque on its official social media pages including Facebook. For those curious enough (or bored...) to want to take a look, follow the break for the official clip.

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VIDEO: New Range Rover Evoque 5-Door Launch Film

Now that Land Rover has unleashed most of the details surrounding its new Range Rover Evoque 5-door, the British company is turning its attention on promoting the crossover model to the social media. Beginning from Wednesday, December 1st, the automaker will share a new animated film of the five-door Evoque on its official social media pages including Facebook. For those curious enough (or bored...) to want to take a look, follow the break for the official clip.

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VIDEO: New Range Rover Evoque 5-Door Previewed on Film

The wait for the five-door version of the promising Range Rover Evoque soft roader is almost over as in less than a week's time, we'll see the SUV up close at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Following yesterday's detailed photo presentation, we now have the first video footage of the Evoque, which will hit U.S. dealerships next fall with a 240-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged four-pot petrol and a starting price of around $45,000.

In most of Europe, the Evoque will go on sale earlier in summer of 2011, with powertain options including a pair of diesel engines as well as the 2.0-liter turbo petrol. At least in the UK, France, Italy and Portugal, the base Evoque 5d with front wheel drive will start at around €35,000. Watch the two films after the jump.

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