Jaguar Land Rover plans to pump hundreds of millions into UK plants as part of its strategy to electrify its range of cars. Chief executive Ralf Speth has pledged that by 2020 all its models will be available with some form of electric power, and the investment is part of this drive.

The money will go into building a new battery assembly plant at Hams Hall, near Birmingham, and setting up its existing engine plant in Wolverhampton to make electric drive systems.

JLR has bought in these components, but now wants to bring the work in-house. The move will create battery jobs and guarantee work for staff in the Wolverhampton plant.

The decline of diesel in the wake of emissions scandal has hit JLR hard as most of its vehicles use the fuel in the UK and Europe, raising questions about the future of the 1,600 workers at the Wolverhampton site.

It is unclear when the UK's biggest car maker will announce details of the plans, but JLR has said it wants the Hams Hall plant to be operational and to be producing its own electric drives by next year.

This deadline implies a formal announcement will be soon, given the time it will take to build the battery plant.