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Bentley is to invest £40 million to expand its headquarters in Crewe. The development will see the construction of a new R&D centre, creating 300 new jobs in the process.

Housing 1,300 engineers, the new 45,000m² centre will include a styling studio, R&D offices and a technical workshop. One of its core activities will be the development of the firm’s new SUV, due to begin production in 2016.

The expansion was welcomed by George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who visited the site. Mr Osborne said, “Bentley is an iconic British brand that exports around the world. Their decision to create another 300 jobs in R&D on a new site providing close to 1,000 new jobs is fantastic news for Crewe and for Britain.

“These highly skilled jobs in this export industry are exactly the kind of opportunities we want to see created, which is why in yesterday’s Autumn Statement I provided further incentives for R&D in the UK.

“The investment will not only create jobs at Bentley, but support many more through suppliers across the UK.”

Wolfgang Dürheimer, Chairman and CEO of Bentley Motors, said, “With Bentley’s new research and development centre, we will develop a new generation of Bentleys, which will continue our commitment of luxury, performance, quality and engineering excellence.

Investment into UK automotive manufacturing totals more than £3 billion in the past two years, as car production heads towards all-time record levels. Currently more than 750,000 people are employed in the UK automotive sector, and the 300 new jobs at Bentley will be spread across engineering, manufacturing, quality, sales and marketing, and project management.

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