Jaguar mulls building cars in Saudi ArabiaDecember 11, 2012 - 16:06 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is considering building cars in Saudi Arabia, according to BBC News. If it went ahead, it would be the Indian-owned company's second overseas manufacturing plant. It agreed to build a plant in Shanghai last month. At this stage, an agreement with Saudi Arabia is limited to a letter of intent to start a feasibility study. The company said that any new plant in Saudi Arabia would not lead to job losses in the UK. JLR said overseas production would come in addition to the work done in the UK. It has not yet decided whether Jaguar or Land Rover models would be best suited for such production. The West Midlands-based luxury carmaker agreed a £1bn deal with Chinese manufacturer Chery Automobile last month. The two plan to build a plant near Shanghai, which is due to open in 2015, to try to take advantage of the fast-growing market for cars in China, where sales of Jaguar Land Rover's vehicles have risen 80% in the past year. JLR also has an assembly plant in Pune, India, where pre-manufactured parts are put together. It is the construction of the world's largest aluminium smelting facility in Saudi Arabia that has attracted JLR's parent company Tata Motors to the kingdom. Jaguar Land Rover relies on the lightweight metal aluminium for the manufacturing of its vehicles. The smelter is a joint venture between Alcoa and the Saudi Arabian Mining Company, which combines mining, refining and production of the metal in one facility. It is expected to produce the lowest-priced aluminium in the world when it starts work. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |