Gavin Williamson, MP for South Staffordshire, will attend the launch of the Jaguar XE, in London on Monday 8th September.
The Jaguar XE will be the first car to have the new, fuel efficient, Ingenium four cylinder petrol and diesel engine that has been manufactured at the i54 South Staffordshire site near Bilbrook. The production of this small executive saloon will rival the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes C-Class with this new generation of engine.
The development of the new engine was supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, which has funded a significant number of jobs in the region and invested in the research and development programme.
Around 1,400 people work at the JLR site, with a total of 3500 jobs expected to be created within JLR and its supplier companies.
Gavin said: “It’s a real honour for me to be invited by Dr Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover to the launch of the Jaguar XE event. This model is not only vital to the future of JLR, but also so important for the plant in the i54 business park, as the new model lines are taking engines produced in South Staffordshire.
“I am so proud to say that the new engine has been built in South Staffordshire. It is vital that research and development is based here and in the rest of the UK, because if we can get businesses to invest in R & D in the UK, they will often base their manufacturing here, too. It’s so important that, in this area of industry where we already have such a competitive advantage, we do everything we can to see it develop and grow.”