TATA MOTORS-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is moving ahead with its plan to build a large vehicle parts distribution warehouse in the Midlands.
The move by Britain’s largest carmaker has been described as the latest in a £2.5 billion cost-cutting programme amid turbulent automotive market conditions.
If the authorities give their nod to the plan, the warehouse is expected to start operations in 2022, consolidating on to a single location the 10 smaller sites the carmaker has in the UK, which together provide 1,200 jobs.
The Indian firm is working with developer IM Properties, as it seeks planning permission for the 2.94 million square feet facility.
The upcoming structure is expected to collect spare parts for JLR cars from suppliers in Britain and abroad, and then transport them to dealers and garages in 80 countries.
The Coventry-based company denied that the warehouse plan was related to Brexit.
JLR, which was quoted by The Telegraph, insisted that the scheme was “part of a long-term strategic restructuring and consolidation programme of the company’s global spare parts business.
"The project was started in early 2016, before Brexit, so it is not Brexit-related, nor is it being done to provide short-term Brexit contingency planning.”
JLR aims to obtain savings by centralising the spare parts business as it is rolling out new cost-cutting plans to generate £2.5 billion.
The proposed facility will be operated by a subcontractor.
JLR recorded a £395 million quarterly pre-tax loss in July, as the automotive sector witnesses declining demand.
It reported a year-on-year 11.6 per cent decline in its global retail sales to 128,615 vehicles for the quarter ended in June.
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