Construction work has begun on a new £150million National Automotive Innovation Centre (NAIC) for Jaguar Land Rover, which will open in spring 2017.

The 33,000sq m facility will be a state-of-the-art technology hub for the brand’s research teams and collaborative partners, to develop the vehicles and personal mobility solutions of the future.

The NAIC will also focus on inspiring the next generation of engineers - from schoolchildren to undergraduates, to develop the skills required to help keep the UK globally competitive.

Jaguar Land Rover's chief executive officer Dr Ralf Speth said: "The National Automotive Innovation Centre will serve as a generator of new skills and new thinking, providing a perfect, collaborative environment in which to learn, research, and develop the designs and technologies that will shape the vehicles and personal mobility solutions of the future.

"As well as helping Jaguar Land Rover create key technologies that will deliver new experiences for our customers, the centre will deliver wider benefits to the UK automotive industry. The NAIC will have a significant role inspiring the engineers of tomorrow and will help develop the skills we need the UK to nurture and develop, to ensure we remain globally competitive."

The new NAIC is a partnership between the Warwick Manufacturing Group, Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors European Technical Centre, and UK Government's Higher Education Funding Council England.

"The NAIC builds on the success we have enjoyed as part of our long-standing relationship with WMG at the University of Warwick.

“I am delighted that we are now less than two years from realising the long-term strategic vision shared by Mr Ratan Tata and Professor Lord Bhattacharyya for a national hub for automotive innovation and skills. Their support and investment in the development of an innovation infrastructure here in the UK will help this country, and Jaguar Land Rover, remain at the forefront of global innovation in manufacturing and engineering for decades to come,” he said.

Jaguar Land Rover today employs more than 8000 engineers and designers in the UK and is investing more than ever before in new technologies, skills and facilities. In the financial year 2015/16 the business will invest up to £3.8billion in product creation. When the centre opens in 2017, 1,000 highly-skilled people will work at the NAIC.

The development of the new facility will complement Jaguar Land Rover's product research and development centres in Gaydon and Whitley.