Land Rover cash aid!
March 11th, 2009 by Richard Aucock
LAND Rover will get up to £27 million of Government cash, if it commits to building a new car.
The offer is on the table to incentivise a final decision on the new green ‘baby’ Range Rover – one which is due later this year.
Production would be at the firm’s plant in Merseyside, which already builds the Freelander, as well as the Jaguar X-Type.
‘We welcome the Government’s support for this project, which would form a key part of our future product plans and which we very much want to put into production,’ said Land Rover MD Phil Popham.
Land Rover says the new model will be the smallest, lightest and most fuel efficient Range Rover ever (yes, it will be badged Range Rover). It will be based on the LRX Concept, introducing new powertains to the brand.
It will a key part of the company’s goal to exceed a 20 per cent CO2 reduction.
Cash will be offered under the Government’s Grant for Business Investment scheme – and will form a big part of the project’s £400 million cost.
They money is separate from the broader automotive support package currently being unveiled by the Government.
A note of caution is issued by Land Rover admitting the new Range Rover still has to go through a number of approval gateways in the product development process, before getting the final go-ahead,
However, said Popham, ‘Our engineering feasibility study has shown that we can very successfully deliver Range Rover levels of quality, drivability and breadth of performance in a more compact, more sustainable, package.
‘Feedback from the most extensive customer research we have ever undertaken also fully supports our belief that a production version of the LRX Concept would further raise the desirability of our brand and absolutely meet all those expectations.’
Sounds like a dead cert to us! Does this mean Land Rover’s future in the UK is saved?