JLR boss hopes to see car production return to birth city

JAGUAR Land Rover boss Ralf Speth has spoken optimistically about the prospect of car manufacturing returning to Coventry, where the company is headquartered.

The JLR chief executive spoke to the Post’s sister paper, The Coventry Telegraph, after a private summit involving government Business Secretary Greg Clark, Labour peer and Warwick manufacturing Group (WMG) chairman Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya, and Tory West Midlands mayoral candidate Andy Street.

Asked if he was confident JLR could return car manufacturing to Coventry, he said: “Yes. If you really work together and pick the opportunities the mobility sector is going to provide.”

Mr Speth has been clear that a number of things need to happen in order for car building to return to the city. In November he issued a shopping list to government which included an increased energy supply, improved infrastructure, access to land and an improved 5G mobile network.

Asked how he felt after discussions with Mr Clark, Mr Speth said: “I am very much encouraged.

“The automotive industry is going to see more change in the next five years than we have seen in the last 50.

“We’re going from the internal combustion engine to autonomous, connected, electrified hybridisation – but also there are mobility issues.

“That means we have to really work together. Government, university, supply chain, industry have to work together.

“Nobody can do it alone anymore because there is a connectivity between all these types of sectors.

“Especially here in the Midlands, there is a seed that can really grow and make a difference. We can really integrate this new technology in the very best way and test it in a safe environment.”

He added: “It’s not just about Jaguar Land Rover, it’s bigger than Jaguar Land Rover. At the end of the day, if the automotive industry work with the energy sector in a better way, we can avoid building additional power plants. All of us have to integrate – there are so many opportunities.”

Mr Speth emphasised that time was of the essence in order for Coventry to lead the global automotive revolution – and to avoid being overtaken by the likes of China or the USA.

He said: “I was just in China and the US for automotive shows. What you see, the pace and the speed of innovation, other countries really accelerating and taking over leadership, taking over the jobs. From my point of view it’s better if there is an industrial strategy so that together there’s a new pace and a new speed.”