JLR is investing £500 million (approximately Rs 5,096 crore) to transform its historic Halewood facility for the production of electric vehicles (EVs) alongside internal combustion engine (ICE) and hybrid models. Built in 1963, the Halewood plant, originally used to produce the Ford Anglia, is undergoing a significant overhaul to prepare for the electric era.
So far, £250 million has been invested, involving over a million hours of construction in the past year. The site has been expanded by 32,364 square meters to manufacture it’s medium-sized electric luxury SUVs on the new Electric Modular Architecture (EMA) platform.
Equipped with advanced technology, the upgraded plant now includes new EV production lines, 750 autonomous robots, ADAS calibration rigs, laser alignment tools for precision, and a cloud-based digital plant management system. These enhancements mark Halewood as a cutting-edge “factory of the future.”
This investment aligns with JLR’s Reimagine strategy, aiming for the electrification of all JLR brands by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality across the supply chain, products, and operations by 2039. Halewood is set to produce ICE, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), and battery electric vehicles (BEV) simultaneously, with the goal of becoming JLR’s first fully electric manufacturing plant.
Barbara Bergmeier, Executive Director of Industrial Operations at JLR, said, “Halewood has been the heart of JLR in Northwest England for over two decades. It will become our first all-electric production facility, thanks to the incredible efforts of our teams and suppliers.”
JLR is also incorporating £16 million worth of equipment from its Castle Bromwich site, reusing robots and automated guided vehicles to further enhance the facility.
JLR aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2039, with plans to install 18,000 solar panels at Halewood, generating 8,600 GWh of energy—10% of the site’s total energy consumption. This initiative, combined with renewable energy sources, fuel switching, and efficiency measures, aims to cut 40,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from Halewood’s operations.
As part of JLR’s £20 million annual Future Skills Programme, the company is retraining employees for the shift towards EV production. Halewood’s new training and development center focuses on High Voltage Training for battery assembly, with over 1,600 employees already trained and more to follow.
