Jaguar Land Rover has officially opened a factory its first fully-owned manufacturing plant outside of the UK, in Brazil.

The new South American plant will construct the Range Rover Discovery Sport and Evoque, which are the two most popular Jaguar Land Rover cars in Brazil.

The opening of the site also marks the first time a UK-based car manufacturing company has opened a manufacturing site in Latin America.

The new Jaguar Land Rover factory will be built in Itatiaia and signifies the next phase in the firm’s global expansion scheme after it opened a Chinese joint venture factory two years.

Speaking at the plant inauguration, the firm’s Executive Director of Manufacturing, Wolfgang Stadler, said that the opening of their new world-class site in Brazil signifies the company’s latest landmark in its global expansion.

He continued that Land Rover already leads the Brazilian market for sales of mid-sized premium SUVs, which account for over 30% of sales in that sector.

Building on their existing popularity in Brazil, the Discovery Sport and Evoque will be made for the first time in South America.

Also included in the plant is Jaguar Land Rover’s first ever overseas ‘Education Business Partnership Centre’, which provides a host of classroom activities for around 12,000 local children every year.

The scheme aims to raise the children’s work awareness, help them to develop key skills and inspire them to pursue a career with Jaguar Land Rover.

The company has also announced that it has sourced major components for its vehicle manufacturing from local suppliers such as IAC and Benteler.

Among the components that will be sourced from these local suppliers are powertrain assembly, chassis, exhaust, cockpit and seats.

Furthermore, Jaguar Land Rover says that it is supporting an increase in the levels of localisation in the future by investing in its technical assistance services.