Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has committed £65 million ($81.3 million) to expand its paint facilities globally, aiming to address the growing demand for personalised luxury vehicles and reduce the environmental impact of its production processes.
Demand for bespoke paint and custom colour options for JLR’s Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models has more than doubled since FY22. Similarly, interest in the exclusive Range Rover SV models has also doubled in the current financial year.
As part of the investment, JLR will open new facilities in Castle Bromwich, West Midlands, and Nitra, Slovakia, to boost production capacity for bespoke paint and expanded palette options. These facilities are expected to support over 17,000 additional vehicle orders annually and make exclusive paint options available across other JLR brands.
In Castle Bromwich, £41 million ($51.2 million) will be invested in new Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) facilities. Of this, £26 million (32.5 million) will go toward replacing existing paint booths with state-of-the-art, energy-efficient systems by 2025. The upgrades include automated spray robots to cut paint waste by 30%, alongside significant reductions in energy and water consumption.
In Slovakia, construction has begun on a £10 million ($12.5 million) universal paint line at the Nitra plant, where Defender and Discovery models are produced. Scheduled for completion in 2026, the facility will feature an electric paint booth and curing ovens, avoiding around 500 tonnes of CO2e emissions per year. The facility will also offer unlimited customisation options, creating 120 new jobs in the region.
Both sites will incorporate innovative technologies to minimise their environmental footprint. At Nitra, a Smart Oven control system will optimise energy use by shutting down during inactivity, while a heat exchanger will recover heat from flue gases to improve heating and cooling system efficiency. These measures are expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 2,250 tonnes annually—equivalent to 2,200 barrels of oil—and save approximately £750,000 per year.
Paint shops account for around 80% of JLR’s operational emissions, making them a critical focus area for sustainability improvements.
The expanded capacity will support growing demand for JLR’s bespoke paint services, including the SV Bespoke Paint matching programme, which enables clients to customise vehicle colours. These commissions, which can match colours to private jets or yachts, typically add an average of £70,000 to the base price of a Range Rover SV, which starts at £202,000.
Andrea Debbane, Chief Sustainability Officer said, “By increasing our capacity we can satisfy the demand growth from our Range Rover clients and also expand this service for the first time to clients of our other Brands.”
Jamal Hameed, Director SVO said, “Due to the complex and energy intensive heating and curing processes necessary to achieve the highest quality and durability standards, paint shops are the largest contributor to automotive manufacturing emissions, accounting for 80% of operational emissions globally.”
