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Blair, Tony

£43 Million Grant Aid Package Secures Jaguar's "Baby Jag" Project for Britain

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A £43 million grant aid package will be announced by the Government today, securing the massive "baby Jag" project for Britain and cementing Jaguar's position as a medium-sized car maker. The video link-up with Ford's CEO, Mr Alex Trotman, and Prime Minister Tony Blair will confirm the package of regional and European grant aid for the £400 million X400 project at Halewood on Merseyside. This aid package is crucial in attracting the project, which would have otherwise gone to Ford's plants in Cologne, Germany, or Wixom in the US.

Key Takeaways:

  • The £43 million grant aid package will secure the £400 million X400 project at Halewood, creating new jobs and transforming Jaguar from a niche to a medium-sized car maker.
  • The project will create additional jobs among automotive component suppliers, the bulk of whom are based in the West Midlands.
  • The X400 project will replace the Escort model, ensuring the existence of the Halewood factory and its employees will become Jaguar employees.
  • The grant aid package is the second largest secured by Jaguar in recent years, following an £80 million grant for the X200 "Mini-Jag" project.
  • The decision will also impact Ford's European head, Mr Jac Nasser, who acknowledged that the quality improvements made by unions at Halewood needed recognition.
  • Union leaders will hold emergency meetings with Vauxhall management this week to discuss the threat to the Luton plant, which may not be viable with the loss of the Corsa successor model.

Statistics:

  • £43 million: the grant aid package announced by the Government to secure the X400 project.
  • £400 million: the total cost of the X400 project.
  • 45,000: the number of up-market saloons and sports cars produced by Browns Lane each year.
  • 94 years: the age of the Luton Vauxhall factory, which is facing uncertainty with the decision not to make a successor to the Corsa model.

Sources:

  • Source 1: "£43m grant for Jaguar, not an earth-shattering announcement" by Martin Brundle, The Times, 1999.

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