Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant is moving to 24-hour production for the first time to help the manufacturer keep up with demand for its Evoque.

The move will create 1,000 additional jobs at the factory which will also help to build Freelander units.

JLR has tripled Halewood’s staff in the last three years and the brand has reported that it has already received 6,000 applications for the 1,000 positions.

The demand has been driven largely by exports to China.

Ralf Speth, JLR chief executive, said: “China is strong, especially strong for the luxury market," said Ralf Speth, the chief executive of JLR.

"We have a very low market share in China therefore we are sure we can continue this growth."