JLR goes round the clock to meet Evoque demand

Jaguar Land Rover has begun 24-hour production at its Halewood factory on Merseyside to meet global demand for the Range Rover Evoque.

It is the first time in the 50-year history of Halewood that the plant has worked round the clock.

JLR announced in March the intention to move to 24-hour production, on the strength of the almost 88,000 Evoques sold in more than 170 markets since the model launched last year.

At the same time the plant began recruiting 1,000 more employees, boosting the workforce to 4,500. The plant is now working three shifts, including the new night shift starting at 9.30pm, manufacturing the Evoque and updated Land Rover Freelander 2.

According to Halewood Operations Director Richard Else the new recruits worked a number of trial night shifts during July, to ensure the new pattern began without problems.

“Moving production to three shifts and working 24 hours a day will allow us to significantly reduce the time a customer has to wait for their new Range Rover Evoque,” Else says.

JLR Halewood has trebled its workforce in just three years and the size of the workforce is now the highest it has been for 20 years.

Words by: Andrew Charman