Unipart Logistics has won a three-year contract to service the new Jaguar Land Rover Battery Assembly Centre in the West Midlands.

The Battery Assembly Centre will be one of the largest of its kind in the UK, using new production techniques and technologies to manufacture battery packs for future Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles from 2020.More than 100 Unipart people will provide production logistics at the highly-advanced site in Hams Hall, which will provide electric vehicle batteries for Jaguar Land Rover’s Solihull and Castle Bromwich manufacturing plants, in line with a rigorous just-in-time production schedule.

Unipart has a strong heritage in automotive logistics, already delivering parts and aftermarket support for Jaguar Land Rover and other customers such as VW, as well as carrying out production logistics for other premium brand automotive customers.

Unipart is committed to and investing in the electric vehicle market, as the future of the automotive industry. In 2018, Unipart announced a joint venture with Williams Advanced Engineering called Hyperbat to manufacture batteries for high-performance vehicles.

John Neill, Unipart Group Chairman and CEO, said: ‘The future of the automotive industry is in electric vehicles, and this contract with Jaguar Land Rover sees Unipart playing a key role at the heart of Jaguar Land Rover’s plans for electrification.

‘Unipart is uniquely placed to make a positive influence on the UK automotive industry’s electrification which is set for terrific growth. Hyperbat, our joint venture with Williams Advanced Engineering, is at the forefront of manufacturing batteries for high-performance electric vehicles. Our lean practitioners are already working with automotive manufacturers looking to bring electric vehicle production into their supply chain successfully, and we can continue to bring added value through our expertise in both in-production and aftermarket logistics.’