A ceremony to unveil the foundation stone for the new National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) at the University of Warwick yesterday marked the formal launch of the construction phase for the £150 million project which will create a new UK automotive technology, innovation and education centre.

NAIC represents a partnership between the Warwick Manufacturing Group, Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors European Technical Centre and the UK government’s Higher Education Funding Council England.

The 33,000 sq m facility, which is due to open in early 2017, will become the hub for Jaguar Land Rover’s advanced research teams and will feature high-tech workshops, laboratories, virtual engineering suites and advanced powertrain facilities, equipped to enable a full range of design, visualisation and prototyping activities.

The development of the NAIC project is the next stage in Jaguar Land Rover’s strategy to develop its global R&D and engineering capability. The company currently employs more than 8000 engineers and designers in the UK. In the financial year 2015/16 the business claims it will invest up to £3.8bn in product creation.

The NAIC will also aim to address the shortage of skilled R&D staff in the automotive supply chain. The goal is to help create a pipeline of people into companies nationwide, including the creation of more apprentices in specific areas of vehicle technology.

When the centre opens in 2017, 1,000 people are expected to work there. Jaguar Land Rover says the NAIC will enable it to co-locate 600 of its engineers, researchers and technologists to work collaboratively with academics and R&D specialists from across the automotive supply chain. Details of the specific research projects that will take place in the NAIC will be announced in due course, but Jaguar Land Rover has revealed these will be focused on electrification, smart and connected cars and the Human Machine Interface.

The development of the new NAIC facility will add to Jaguar Land Rover’s product research and development centres in Gaydon and Whitley. While the NAIC will become the hub for its advanced research teams, Gaydon and Whitley will continue to be Jaguar Land Rover’s main engineering and product development centres.

Source: Jaguar Land Rover

Tags: apprenticeships, car design, engineering, Higher Education Funding Council England, Jaguar Land Rover, manufacturing, NAIC, National Automotive Innovation Centre, Tata Motors European Technical Centre, TMETC, UK, University of Warwick, Warwick Manufacturing Group