JLR opens desert testing centre

Vehicle durability, calibration and hot weather tests will take place at new facility

Jaguar Land Rover has opened an engineering test centre in Dubai for extreme hot weather vehicle research and development. All models bound for the European, Middle East and North Africa regions will be certified at the site before production.

The 1,100m2 facility in the Al Barsha area replaces a smaller centre in the Dubai Investments Park. Temperatures in the desert can reach 50°C in summer, which will enable engineering teams to test vehicles for durability, calibration and hot weather conditions including heat and humidity. The offroad and sand driving capability of the company’s terrain response system will come under scrutiny at the centre. Engineers will also look at powertrains, chassis, and heat and ventilation systems. 

Martyn Hollingsworth, director of engineering technical services, said: “Our new facility in Dubai is four times the size of the previous test centre and will enable us to enhance our testing of future technologies.

“The engineering team is focused on the quality and durability of our products and an important part of this is rigorous environmental testing.”