Jaguar Land Rover has announced plans to open a new software, IT and engineering centre in Manchester to support its strategy of introducing connected technologies in future vehicles.
The new Manchester centre will work alongside the company’s engineering teams at the Gaydon Pioneering Hub in Warwickshire – its global design and engineering HQ.
The small team will pioneer new software technology to help create the next generation of future connected car technologies. Jaguar Land Rover is the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, employing more than 44,000 people globally.
Last year the company sold 621,109 vehicles in 130 countries and expects to spend in the region of £4.5 billion in 2018 on new product creation and capital expenditure. From 2020, all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will be electrified.
Nick Rogers, Executive Director of Product Engineering for the company, said: “As the automotive industry continues to embrace autonomous, connected and electrified technologies, Jaguar Land Rover remains committed to engineering innovative software that will make our customers’ lives better, by creating premium in-car experiences that they love.
“With the Manchester team supporting the creation of connected car technology, the new centre is a fantastic opportunity for us to keep pushing the boundaries towards seamless connectivity, with disruptive technical solutions, and I look forward to welcoming our new colleagues into our Product Engineering team.”
Manchester is recognised as a centre of excellence for software engineers, particularly ‘over the air’ software skills. Jaguar Land Rover says that “drawing on this regional talent” is “essential to combat the current skills shortage” it is attempting to overcome as it prepares for growth.
The manufacturer is working to create an ever-safer and enhanced driving experience, such as enabling its vehicles to ‘talk’ to each other and notify drivers of potential hazards ahead.
Jaguar Land Rover is looking for IT specialists, software engineers and developers with experience in a range of disciplines such as cloud based features, vehicle software and vehicle architecture.
Earlier this month, Prolific North reported that a number of global tech, media and financial brands were at different stages of investing in Manchester.
Brands understood to be either in active negotiations on specific space or are considering options with property agents include: Barclays Bank, Amazon, WPP, The Guardian and Sky Betting & Gaming while separately Channel 4 has more recently announced that Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool are among seven candidate cities vying to be the base for its proposed new ‘National’ HQ and 250 new jobs.
