Daily Mail

Jag ‘on the brink of major UK investment’

- by Francesca Francesc Washtell

JAGUAR Land Lan Rover is poised to invest hundreds hund of millions of pounds into UK plants as part of a push towards toward electric cars, it was claimed last night.

The firm is set to pump cash into a new battery batte factory near Birmingham mingham and an an engine plant in Wolverhamp­ton Wolverham that will make electric drive driv systems, The Daily Telegraph reported.

JLR slashed thousands of jobs earlier this year, but this major boost to the UK car industry will create jobs and guarantee those at Wolverhamp­ton.

However, the news came amid conflictin­g claims that its Indian parent was considerin­g options for JLR. Tata Group is reportedly holding talks with advisers to explore whether it could sell a stake in the firm or form a joint venture with a partner to cut costs. It is thought the firm would be reluctant to sell outright.

Last night, JLR dismissed the reports as speculatio­n. A Tata spokesman said: ‘There is no truth to the rumours that Tata Motors is looking to divest its stake in JLR.’

Tata Motors recently posted the biggest quarterly loss in Indian corporate history of £3.4bn as JLR’s Chinese sales slumped. And last month JLR said it would cut 4,500 jobs, with most coming from its 40,000-strong UK workforce. ÷ LORD Bhattachar­yya, credited with convincing former Tata boss Ratan Tata to buy Jaguar Land Rover in 2008, has died at 78.

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