$5 Billion UK Battery Plant Signals EV Push for Jaguar Land Rover

• The United Kingdom is gaining back some of its former automotive manufacturing prowess, as Jaguar Land Rover announces a $5 billion investment in battery production.

• With funds coming from the Tata Group, JLR's parent company, British officials say this new facility will also help the UK achieve its 2030 emissions and EV sales goals.

• Battery production won't start until 2026, but JLR says we can expect an all-electric Range Rover and new GT-style, Jaguar EV by 2025.

Luxury brands like Maserati and Jaguar Land Rover aren't diving into the electrification race as fast as traditional automakers and it might be for a good reason. With smaller customer bases and higher production costs, adding electrified powertrains to the mix represents increasing costs in the worried minds of company executives. But that doesn't mean luxury automakers are immune to the various government mandates surrounding electrification in the 21st century.

Which is why most luxury manufacturers (save for EV-specific luxury startups like Rivian and Lucid) are dipping their toes into the electric waters with plug-in hybrids or select BEV offerings. And Jaguar Land Rover is no exception to this rule, with the oddball Jaguar I-Pace and a few plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid Range Rover models. But the UK-based brand is readying itself for a big change, as JLR parent company Tata Group announces a $5 billion investment in a UK battery gigafactory.

The plant is important for a number of reasons, namely signifying a reified interest in the United Kingdom as an automotive hub but also marking Tata's first gigafactory away from its home base in India. Around 4000 new employees of JLR, which was acquired by Tata in 2008, will operate the plant as it works toward an annual output of 40 gigawatt-hours. And the plant will be built in Somerset, nearby JLR's current assembly facilities in Birmingham, with an estimated production start date of 2026.