JAGUAR Land Rover boss Ralf Speth welcomed the £70 million boost for the Midland vehicle manufacturer approved by the Government’s regional growth fund.

Chief executive officer Dr Speth, pictured, said: “Jaguar Land Rover welcomes the announcement by Government of investment in high-technology and business growth to create new jobs in the UK and the conditional approval of its application to the Regional Growth Fund.

“Jaguar Land Rover is the leading investor in UK automotive R&D and has ambitious growth plans.

“We are spending millions of pounds on research – for example a £100 million investment in an advanced facility at WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group) – working together with UK suppliers and academic institutions.

“This is only a part of our overall vehicle development activities; in total we will spend more than £1 billion a year on product creation.

“Jaguar Land Rover directly employs more than 17,000 people in the UK and supports up to 130,000 jobs in total through the supply chain, dealer network and wider economy.

“We have recently confirmed 1,500 new production jobs at our Halewood plant and have begun recruiting more than 1,000 additional engineers.

“Some 75 per cent of Jaguar Land Rover production is exported, returning £8 billion last year in support of the UK balance of trade.”