JLR invests £500m to prepare Halewood factory for EVs

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), a renowned British automotive manufacturer, has taken a bold step towards sustainability by investing a significant £500 million to revamp its iconic Halewood facility to gear up for electric vehicle production. Established back in 1963 for the production of the Ford Anglia, this historic site is now undergoing a massive transformation to adapt to the electric era.

So far, an impressive £250 million has already been allocated for this transformation, involving over a million hours of construction work within the last year alone. The Halewood plant has been expanded by over 32,000 square metres to cater to the production of JLR’s medium-sized electric luxury SUVs. This new production will be based on the cutting-edge Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) platform. An additional £250 million will be pumped into this facility over the upcoming years to further enhance its capabilities.

The Halewood plant has been equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including new EV build lines, integrating 750 autonomous robots, ADAS calibration rigs, laser alignment technology for precise part installations, and the latest cloud-based digital plant management systems to streamline production. This marks the inception of what JLR proudly calls the ‘factory of the future.’

This substantial investment is in line with JLR’s commitment to its Reimagine strategy, which aims to electrify all its brands by 2030. Additionally, JLR has set a target of achieving carbon net zero across its supply chain, products, and operations by 2039, aligning with global efforts towards sustainability.

Electrification forms the core of this strategy, and Halewood is poised to have a promising future as it transitions from producing Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), and eventually to Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) models side by side, ultimately becoming JLR’s inaugural all-electric production facility.

Barbara Bergmeier, the Executive Director of Industrial Operations at JLR, expressed, “Halewood has been the vibrant hub of JLR in the Northwest of England for over two decades, crafting vehicles such as the Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport. It is with immense pride that Halewood is slated to become our primary all-electric production site, a testament to the relentless dedication of our teams and suppliers who collaborate to equip this plant with cutting-edge technology, essential for delivering our world-class luxury electric vehicles.”

The transformational work at Halewood to accommodate vehicles of varying sizes includes the establishment of a new body shop capable of producing 500 vehicle bodies per day. The paint shop, spanning 1.4 kilometres, has been revamped, expanding ovens and conveyors to meet the heightened demand for contrasting roofs. Moreover, a new automated painted body storage tower, capable of storing up to 600 painted vehicle bodies, has been constructed, alongside extending the final production line’s length from 4 to 6 kilometres to facilitate battery fitment.

The site has also extended its vehicle build stations to seven metres to accommodate the differing proportions of the new EMA electric vehicles. Additionally, 40 new Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) have been introduced to aid employees in fitting high-voltage batteries. The employees have undergone High Voltage Training, with over 1,600 employees trained so far, and £16 million worth of equipment from JLR’s Castle Bromwich site has been seamlessly integrated for reuse at this advanced facility.

In pursuit of its carbon net zero goal by 2039, JLR has placed emphasis on maximising renewable energy use. Plans are underway to install 18,000 photovoltaic panels, generating 8,600 GWh of energy, accounting for 10% of the site’s energy consumption. Through a combination of renewable sources, fuel switching, and energy-efficient solutions, JLR aims to eliminate 40,000 tonnes of CO2e, thereby significantly reducing Halewood’s industrial carbon footprint.

JLR’s Future Skills Programme entails investing £20 million annually across all its sites to empower employees to transition their careers and acquire crucial skills in the evolving landscape of automotive manufacturing and engineering. Part of this initiative includes the inauguration of Halewood’s new training and development centre, where employees will receive training on vehicles at different production stages, with an emphasis on High Voltage Training (HVT) involving battery assembly processes.

As JLR looks to integrate advanced AI-powered autonomous driving and connected services in its upcoming generation of vehicles, Halewood’s facility now boasts new Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) calibration rigs. These rigs ensure optimal ADAS responsiveness in each vehicle, guaranteeing the highest calibration level for future autonomous driving capabilities.

As the new production lines have successfully carried out the first test builds of EMA body shells, JLR will continue to test and refine the new machinery and technology in preparation for EMA production commencement, marking another significant step towards creating a sustainable future.

Images courtesy of JLR.