Ratan Tata and Cyril Mistry lay foundation of National Automotive Innovation Centre in the UK

Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry and Ratan Tata laid down the foundation stone of the £150 million National Automotive Innovation Centre at the University of Warwick on Tuesday.

At 33,000m2, it is the largest automotive research centre of its kind in Europe and is funded by Jaguar Land Rover - a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors. The facility will house 1,000 engineers, designers and academics and will be open to students from the WMG Academies for Young Engineers to work on real world applications.

The National Automotive Innovation Centre will include a design and simulation space, an Advanced Propulsion Research Factory as well the world's most advanced fully immersive drive-in car simulator. It will be used by both Jaguar Land Rover and Tata Motors to take forward research of autonomous vehicles.

Tata is aiming to provide breakthrough technologies in areas such as carbon reduction, smart and connected vehicles, and advanced propulsion systems including hybrid and electric systems.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Cyrus P. Mistry, Chairman of Tata Sons, said, "This unique resource will provide state-of-the-art engineering and technology labs that will greatly enhance the ability of academia and industry to work side by side on leading edge research to deliver exciting new innovative products and meet the widely held ambition to deliver automotive technology and products that will be smarter, lighter, and greener. The Tata group shares these objectives to achieve greater sustainability, and is delighted to support their realisation."