JLR plans to set up factory in US

One of the big dangers for any business is complacency; the challenge for leaders is how to keep injecting urgency. I think much depends on how good a CEO is at motivating his or her team and generating excitement.

London, Oct. 19: Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover ( JLR) is working on an ambitious plan to set up a factory in the US, in a first for a British carmaker in the world's second- biggest automobile market.

The West Midlands- based luxury carmaker is reportedly talking to several southern states of America, including South Carolina, about building a plant in the US, a newspaper claimed on Sunday.

JLR is capitalising on a turnaround in its fortunes after Tata acquired the struggling brand for around £ 1.3 billion back in 2008.

It is all set to open a 130,000- vehicle factory in China on Tuesday and later this month will launch its i54 engine plant in Wolverhampton — a£ 500- million investment.

It has also signed a deal for a new factory in Brazil and is exploring three possible locations in Wales for a new logistics hub, though it is also considering a site in the Midlands.

Selling directly into the US would allow JLR to avoid high import tariffs and smooth the impact of fluctuating currency rates.

— Ratan Tata, Chairman emeritus, Tata Group

The newspaper believes it would probably receive significant start- up support from the chosen state, and could commit itself to building a factory that will eventually produce 200,000 cars a year. The company has also been exploring the possibility of opening a factory in Mexico. JLR sold about 55,000 cars in North America last year, an eighth of its 425,000 global sales.

Its target is to reach 1 million cars by the end of the decade.