Jaguar Land Rover may expand operations at its Halewood factory in Merseyside in the UK, to cater to continued strong demand for the Range Rover Evoque, according to reports in the UK.

It comes as Mr. Ratan Tata warned that the tough economic conditions would most probably persist in 2012, and could moderate the group's expansion.

JLR is in the early stages of considering a £100 million plan to double the size of the plant, already operating at full capacity, according to reports in Britain's The Telegraph on Tuesday. The company would also raise the work force at Halewood by 1,500, according to the report.

“JLR has not made any announcements about Halewood operations and we do not comment on speculation about possible future plans,” said a spokesperson for the company.

JLR recruited an additional 3,000 people last year, half of whom to support the launch of the Range Rover Evoque at Halewood. Both the Freelander 2 and the Evoque are produced at Halewood, which currently employs around 3,000 people.

Jaguar Land Rover has continued to expand its operations despite the financial crisis. In November last year, the company said it would be raising workforce at its Solihull manufacturing plant by 25 per cent or an additional 1,000 workers, and has also announced it will be investing £355 million in a plant to manufacture low-emission four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines near Wolverhampton in the UK.

JLR has said it will spend around £1.5 billion a year over the next five years, and complete 40 new product actions within that period, stepping up competition with its German auto-making rival. Cumulative sales of JLR for the fiscal year till November reached 185,431 units, 19 per cent higher than a year earlier, led by Land Rover, where figures were up 28 per cent. Analysts remain bullish about the division, with BRICS Securities predicting a 14 per cent rise in JLR sales for the year ending March.

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