Tata Motors is considering a plan to open a factory in Saudi Arabia to build Jaguar Land Rover vehicles, chairman Ratan Tata said to Autocar India. He said that this plant would be positioned beside a new aluminum smelter. He added that this smelter will mean that the production of aluminum in Saudi Arabia would be highly competitive. He explained that the company is looking into a business case of this assembly plant beside a large press shop in the long-term, especially with its focus on using aluminium in its products. Saudi Arabian Mining Co. (Maaden) and Alcoa have entered a joint venture to build this smelter, which is likely to begin production in 2013. For many decades, Saudi Arabia (the top oil exporter in the world and the largest economy in the Middle East) has been hoping to make use of its bountiful natural resources to diversify its economy into complex industries. The electricity prices in the Saudi Arabian industry are affordable because of low natural gas prices. The conservative Islamic kingdom currently doesn’t have an auto industry yet to speak of.
Tata Motors planning to build Jaguar, Land Rover vehicles in Saudi Arabia
by Andrew Christian, Email, 02 Sep, 2012
