Just days after the news came that Japanese car major Honda was to cut 800 jobs at its Swindon factory, Tata-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will announce just as many new jobs at its Solihull plant in the Midlands.
JLR already employs as many as 24,000 people in the UK.
According to the Sunday Times, an announcement of the latest recruitment drive is expected in time for the Detroit Motor Show which begins tomorrow.
The investment, which defies a general slowdown in the auto industry, is largely down to a surge in demand for JLR brands in China, Russia and the US.
The iconic British car giant, taken over by Tata in 2008, registered record profits of 1.5 billion pounds last year due to this overseas boost.
It marks a significant reversal of fortunes for JLR under the stewardship of Tata Motors, which had announced 1,000 new jobs at its Halewood plant on Merseyside last year and now employs nearly 24,000 staff in the UK.
Following a period of uncertainty as the credit crunch hit soon after Tata's takeover from Ford, the sales of most JLR brands rebounded considerably to result in an ambitious expansion plan two years ago.
The company wants to launch 40 new models in the next five years and has a target of making 60,000 cars a year.
A sporty new Range Rover is expected to be launched in April this year.
Tata, under former chairman Ratan Tata, had also earmarked 350 million pounds on constructing an engine plant in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands.
More than 80 per cent of the vehicles made at JLR's three British factories ¿ the third at Castle Bromwich, also in the Midlands are shipped abroad.
Last year the company clinched a joint venture deal with Chinese car maker Chery to make JLR models in China.
The company had recently revealed plans to launch a scheme, alongside Warwick University, to train an additional 150 staff each year to degree level across a range of disciplines to address skill shortages.
Besides growing its UK plants, it has plans to expand in China and India in order to double global production by the end of the decade.
JLR's robust 2012 sales also contributed to the highest levels of new car registrations in the UK since 2008, making the UK the second-largest car market in Europe.
Jaguar Land Rover to expand presence in India, China; create 800 jobs in UK
Tata Group owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) today said it will increase its footprint in India and China and create 800 new jobs in Britain, after unveiling that it had clocked 30 per cent growth in global sales at 357,773 units in 177 markets across the world last year.
In 2012 JLR sales were up in every major market, driven by new model introductions and update programmes, the company said in a statement issued at the North American International Motor Show in Detroit.
China is now JLR's largest market, delivering its best- ever sales performance in 2012, with sales of 71,940 units, a growth of 71 per cent from previous year, it said.
It is followed by Britain (68,333 units, up 19 per cent), USA (55,675 units, up 11 per cent), Russia (20,549 units, up 43 per cent) and Germany (16,722 units, up 41 per cent).
"Jaguar Land Rover is working on plans to extend its global production footprint, particularly in India and China," the company said.
"2012 has been a strong year for Jaguar Land Rover with record-breaking sales performance globally. All of our key markets saw strong progress, with demand for our premium vehicles setting new records in a very competitive environment," said Phil Popham, JLR's Director of Group Sales Operations.
"Looking ahead to 2013, we are continuing to invest in our business to support our ambitious plans for growth and we will be introducing eight new or refreshed products throughout the year," he said.
In 2013, JLR will continue to implement its plans for growth and has announced a recruitment campaign to create 800 new jobs in the UK to support the introduction of future model programmes.
More than 200 of these roles are supported by the UK government's Regional Growth Fund, it said.
Stating that the recruitment campaign for production operators is under way at JLR's advanced manufacturing plant in Solihull, West Midlands, it said the company has recently confirmed a 370 million pounds (USD 600 million) investment programme for its Solihull site.
It includes the installation of a new aluminium body shop for the all-new Range Rover as well as upgrades to paint- applications technologies, trim assembly, warehousing and JLR's first customer handover centre.
In the last two years, JLR has embarked on the most ambitious recruitment campaign in the company's history, hiring 8,000 people. It now employs 25,000 people globally, it said.
It said Jaguar Land Rover has ambitious plans for sustainable growth and profitability, adding that it will invest circa 2 billion pounds in its products and facilities in the financial year to March, 2013.
JLR is building a state of the art advanced engine facility at i54 South Staffordshire Business Park in the UK, with an investment of 355 million pounds that will create 750 new jobs.
Construction commenced on June 20, 2012 and is on-going, the company said.