For the first time in Halewood’s 50-year history which is also the birth place of Tata Motors owned Jaguar Land Rover, the 4,500-strong Halewood workforce will now work round the clock to meet strong global demand for the Range Rover Evoque. Not only this the company has registered a very strong sales and is looking at an extremely bright and successful year. Ammar Alvi brings more.
Jaguar Land Rover launched its unique and beautifully designed SUV the Range Rover Evoque in July 2011 and since then the SUV has achieved worldwide sales success, with nearly 88,000 vehicles sold in more than 170 markets. In March this year, Jaguar Land Rover announced that Halewood would move to 24-hour production, and launched a recruitment campaign to hire 1,000 new production operators, supervisors and engineers. These new recruits will manufacture both the Range Rover Evoque and updated Land Rover Freelander 2 models across three shifts, including a new night shift.
According to Halewood Operations Director Richard Else, “Moving production to three shifts and working 24 hours a day will allow us to significantly reduce the time a customer has to wait for their new Range Rover Evoque.”
With 4,500 employees, JLR Halewood has trebled its workforce in just three years —and the size of the workforce is now the highest it has been for 20 years. All of JLR’s new Production Operators will also now receive up to a year of training which will lead to an Intermediate (NVQ Level 2) Apprenticeship.
The Range Rover Evoque has gained critical acclaim achieving more than 120 global awards. Crowned Top Gear Magazine Car of the Year, World Design Car of the Year and North American Truck of the Year among others, the Range Rover Evoque continues to receive plaudits for its concept car looks, dynamic driving performance, class leading off-road skills and excellent cost of ownership.