Jaguar Land Rover in talks to open Saudi manufacturing plant A £1.1bn investment by the joint venture in China will include a new manufacturing plant in Changshu, which is expected to open in 2014. Ralf Speth, JLR chief executive, said on Tuesday that the company was "committed to further international partnerships to meet record demand for our highly sought-after vehicles. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an attractive potential development option, complementing our existing advanced facilities in Britain. JLR has been held up as a poster child for British manufacturing success by ministers in recent months, having made a record £1.5bn profit in the year ending March 2012, despite the eurozone crisis which has hit many of the volume car makers. The company said growth in sales in emerging markets helped drive a 32pc increase in global sales to 324,184 in the 11 months to November 30. Over the same period, sales in the Middle East and North Africa rose by more than 9pc to 11,418 units. Meanwhile, Jaguar's plans to launch a 200mph supercar have been put on hold because of the recession. The £1m hybrid-powered C-X75 was unveiled at the height of the crisis in 2010, but a hoped-for improvement in the economic situation that would drive orders or the cars has failed to materialise.