Jaguar Land Rover has sent a letter of intent to the authorities of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to seek permission to conduct a detailed study and see if it will be feasible for the company to start productions in the country.
The discussion between the car manufacturer and the government of Saudi is at its preliminary stage but opportunities in the production of aluminum components have already been pointed out.
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One of the possible deals will be the building of the biggest aluminum smelter in the world. The aluminum that will be used for the Range Rover and the Jaguar XJ will be sourced from this new factory. The new smelter is expected to be operation by 2013 and may include a stamping facility. This smelting company will be a joint venture between the government of Saudi Arabia and Alcoa, an American firm.
If the results of the feasibility study will be positive, Jaguar Land Rover will be making announcements by next year to discuss the possible production of vehicles in this corner of the Middle East. The new model in line will most likely be joining the range of the Land Rover and may share the aluminum platform used for the new Range Rover.
In case everything gets a go signal, the factory may go online by 2017 in Yanbu or Jubail and roll out around 50,000 vehicles every year.
The CEO of Jaguar Land Rover is excited with the potential and possibilities as the sales of luxury vehicles in the region is expected to rise in the coming years.
The announcement of the possible production in Saudi Arabia comes a few weeks after the British car manufacturer forged a deal with Chery, a Chinese carmaker, to produce Land Rover and Jaguar models in China. The company also has plans to expand its operations in India.
The expansion follows a jump in the sales of Jaguar Land Rover in emerging markets. This chunk of the sale represents 32% of the global sales for the first 11 months of 2012.
