Jaguar Land Rover will sign a deal to open a factory in Brazil before the end of December 2013, according to the UK's Liverpool Echo citing Jaguar's chief executive, Ralph Speth. This will be the company's fourth overseas plant alongside facilities in China, India, and Saudi Arabia. The investment is reported to be worth around GBP100 million; the models to be built have not been announced.
Significance: There have been rumours of this announcement for the past several months; Jaguar will join Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz in adding production in the region, both because of the growth expected in Brazil and to avoid higher tariffs for imported vehicles that would make the luxury models uncompetitive. Without the plant in Brazil, Jaguar's sales will be less than 300 units, while Land Rover sales are forecast by IHS Automotive to be 11,423 in 2013. In comparison, Audi will sell about 21,000 units, BMW about 25,000 units, and Mercedes-Benz nearly 29,000 units in Brazil in 2013.
