Industry Report: Jaguar Restructures, Closes Plant and Kills F1 Program All in One Day

Why was Browns Lane singled out? One of the facilities downfalls is it lacks a paint shop, which is integral to the productivity

The legendary Browns Lane factory in Coventry, England will be shut down in order to cut costs. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

of any automotive plant. What's more, a mere 25,000 XJ and XK models per year are built there, by 2,000 employees. Currently Castle Bromwich finishes some of the Browns Lane cars' body work plus all of the painting, so it just made fiscal sense to consolidate manufacturing under the one roof.

The compact X-Type is built at the Halewood plant near Liverpool. Being one of Ford's best plants when it comes to manufacturing quality, it should weather the storm of budget cuts. Some analysts have said that more than just Browns Lane could get axed by PAG, being that the

With a close eye on the bottom line, Jaguar has also announced it will be pulling out of the Formula 1 championship. (Photo: Jaguar Canada)

automaker also has a separate Land Rover plant in England. The next-generation Land Rover Freelander SUV is expected to be built in the Halewood factory.

With Browns Lane closing, it was only right that the automaker also announced it was pulling out of the Formula 1 championship. Jaguar has more than struggled since taking over Sir Jackie Stewart's team in 1999, hardly finding success in the mid-pack let alone many podiums despite benefiting from Mark Webber, the Australian driver many consider one of the field's best. Webber will be joining Jensen Button on the move to Williams-BMW in 2005, replacing Juan Pablo Montoya who will team up with McLaren-Mercedes and Ralf Schumacher to will drive for Toyota.