2014 Discovery Sport will be the first model to roll off Land Rover’s new Brazil facility

At the ongoing 2014 Sao Paulo Motor Show, Land Rover has confirmed that the Discovery Sport will be one of the first models to be built at its new local manufacturing facility in Itatiaia, Brazil. The Discovery Sport is the British luxury automaker’s newest model shown first at the recently held 2014 Paris Motor Show. 

The new factory, which will see a total investment of 240 million pounds (around Rs 2,350 crore) by the end of 2020, will have an annual capacity to build 24,000 vehicles for the Brazilian market. With the first vehicle driving off the production line in 2016, 400 jobs will be created initially and this is expected to almost double by the end of the decade.

With all agreements in place, following the announcement of the facility in December 2013, Jaguar Land Rover will start construction at the end of the year. On completion, it will be the only British automaker to open a local manufacturing facility in Brazil. This new factory will be Jaguar Land Rover’s first wholly-owned manufacturing plant outside the United Kingdom.

The new Discovery Sport is the first member of the new Discovery family. Featuring 5+2 seating, the SUV has a footprint no larger than the existing 5-seater premium SUVs, making it all the more practical. Expected to arrive in India in the next two years, the Discovery Sport will go up against the likes of the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and the Porsche Macan.