The first pre-production Range Rover Evoque was produced at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR)'s Itatiaia plant in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 23 December, according to media reports. Regular production and plant initiation are scheduled for March 2016, with the timing unchanged despite the departure of the Brazilian CEO of JLR. According to the reports, Terry Hill has left JLR and will be replaced in February 2016 by Frank Wittermann, who currently serves as interim sales director for JLR in China. In April 2016, production of the Discovery Sport is reportedly scheduled to begin at the Itatiaia plant, with a third model expected to be added later. The third model under consideration is reported to be the Jaguar XE sedan, which competes with the BMW 3-Series, also assembled in Brazil. JLR is also reported to be considering a customer delivery centre, including test and demonstration space, in Sao Paulo, which would involve an investment of BRL20 million (USD5 million).
Significance: Production at the new Tata-owned JLR plant is forecasted to reach about 17,000 units in 2020, as the company looks to leverage investment to reduce import taxes under the government's Inovar Auto scheme. The new plant's production capacity will serve Brazil and regional markets, but the luxury automaker provides a small fraction of the country's overall production, which is forecasted to reach 2.89 million units in 2020. Jaguar Land Rover's sales are forecasted to reach about 16,000 units in Brazil in 2020, with total sales in South America at around 19,000 units in the same year.
