British luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has invested £200m to expand production capacity of its Halewood plant in Merseyside, UK.
With the investment, the company intends to start production of its Land Rover Discovery Sport at the facility, which already manufactures Jaguar Land Rover's Range Rover Evoque models.
The car maker has also created 250 new jobs at the Halewood plant, bringing the total number of its employees at the facility to 4,750m, which is more than treble the number employed there in 2010.
Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth said the Land Rover Discovery Sport is the next in a line of exciting new products to come from the company.
"I am delighted that Halewood - and Liverpool - has been selected for this new investment," Speth added.
"It is totally deserved, and strengthens the 'special relationship' that bonds Jaguar Land Rover to this great city."
As part of the expansion, Jaguar Land Rover has installed 260 new automated robots, laser welding facilitates and various equipment monitoring and reporting systems at the facility.
Land Rover Discovery Sport, which is scheduled to be available in 2015, is claimed to be the most capable vehicle in the compact SUV segment and is the first member of an all-new family of Discovery vehicles based on the Discovery Vision Concept.
Image: Jaguar Land Rover announces plans to build the Land Rover Discovery Sport at Halewood. Photo: Courtesy of Jaguar Land Rover Automotive PLC.
