JLR in the News This Week

More news reports from around the internet regarding our favorite automaker... And Jaguar, too.

The Jaguar Land Rover Classic division has proven so popular that its operations have now expanded into their own facility. The newly designated Classic Works site is located in Coventry, the ancestral home of both brands.

At 150,000 square feet in size, the facility is one of the largest of its type anywhere in the world. It contains a showroom, a 54-bay workshop, and storage for vehicles and their component parts. All the more room to store the over 500 classic vehicles the classic division recently acquired.

Starting in September, JLR will offer scheduled tours of the new facility. Speaking from experience with other Land Rover tours, a trip through this facility combined with a Land Rover Experience off road drive would be a lovely way to spend a rainy afternoon in the UK.

JLR has also revealed plans to hire 5000 new workers, announced on the heels of their recent partnership with the ride-sharing service, Lyft. The jobs announcement has eased some of the uncertainty around upcoming Brexit negotiations between the UK and European Union leaders.

UK news sources report that a contractor working in the Land Rover factory at Solihull, UK, died after an industrial accident there. As a result of the accident, the victim suffered a cardiac arrest. Other employees performed CPR on the man. West Midlands Ambulance Services were called to the scene and were unable to save him; he was confirmed dead a short time later. The incident remains under investigation by local authorities.

Conflicting sources are reporting that JLR parent company, Tata, both is and is not, considering an initial public offering of JLR stock. An IPO would potentially boost revenue for India-based Tata, whose home operations are said to be struggling.

The turnaround of the JLR brand has been one of Tata's major success stories, and it would make sense for them to capitalize on that now. An influx of investment dollars could fund the development of new JLR models, connected-car technologies, and autonomous driving systems.

Other high-dollar automakers have recently gone public, such as Ferrari NV, whose shares have now more than doubled. Aston Martin is also reportedly considering a London IPO.