The first all-new Land Rover Discovery Sport has rolled off the production line marking the start of the company’s plan to deliver ’50 significant product actions over the next five years’.

TWO WEEKS AFTER it debuted at the 2014 Paris Motor Show the first all-new Land Rover Discovery Sport, a Kaikoura Stone HSE Luxury spec vehicle, has rolled off the production line and handed over to Stephen Attenborough, Commercial Director, Virgin Galactic, to support Land Rover’s long-term global partnership with Richard Branson’s pioneering commercial spaceline.

Offering 5+2 seating in a footprint no larger than existing 5-seat SUVs it will go on-sale early in 2015 in 170 markets.

According to Land Rover, the Discovery Sport has created 250 new manufacturing jobs following a £200mn investment in the Halewood plant. The impact of Discovery Sport has also been positively felt within the UK supply chain where £3.5bn in contracts have been awarded to 55 suppliers. Many of the companies supplying components to Jaguar Land Rover have made long-term investments in their production facilities, safeguarding and creating over 1000 jobs in the UK supply chain.

Ian Harnett, Jaguar Land Rover’s Purchasing Director said: “A strong, competitive supply chain, meeting our rigorous cost and delivery metrics, is fundamental to the sustainable growth of our business. With many more new products in the pipeline, gearing up to supply Jaguar Land Rover is a solid business proposition.”

The Halewood plant, which is already home to the company’s fastest selling model of all time – the Range Rover Evoque, has seen investment in the site more than double and workforce treble over the last four years with 4750 people now employed at the site.

Richard Else, Jaguar Land Rover Halewood Operations Director said: “Today marks another incredibly proud moment for the Halewood plant, its workforce and the region as a whole.

“The decision to build the Land Rover Discovery Sport here at Halewood is a testament to our tremendous team who are committed to delivering outstanding customer quality as demonstrated by the award winning Range Rover Evoque. Investment in the plant since 2011 now stands at £500mn and has most recently been demonstrated with the installation of a £45mn state-of-the-art Aida servo press line which provided the backdrop to today’s event.”