At the end of October, Jaguar Land Rover officially opened a new modern factory. It is located in the town of Nitra, 75 km from Bratislava, and belongs to the wider area recently known as the Bratislava Motor City. The first vehicle they will be producing in Nitra is the Land Rover Discovery.
Jaguar is the fourth automobile brand that chose Slovakia for its production headquarters (Volkswagen, PSA Peugeot Citroën and Kia). The factory was officially opened on Thursday, 25 October, though production had started already in September. Its production capacity will be 150,000 vehicles per year. 1,500 people are currently working at the factory northwest of Bratislava and by the end of the year, this figure is expected to increase to 2350, and in the next year to 2800. The factory is technologically remarkably advanced and includes a series of automated processes that ensure a high-quality production.
The opening of the factory in Slovakia is the latest step in the strategy of the global brand extension. This is followed by the opening of the factory in China with its local partner in 2014 and another factory in Brazil in 2016.
The new factory strengthens the position of Slovakia as a country where 192 cars are produced per 1,000 inhabitants, making it the world’s top. In addition, the Slovak automotive industry provides 300,000 jobs. The great advantage of Slovakia is the extensive supply chain, and the automotive industry now represents 44% of the total industrial output.
