Jaguar Land Rover is spreading its footprint across Europe by opening a new software engineering hub in Ireland.

The centre in Shannon will create 150 jobs aimed at developing advanced automated driving and electrification technologies.

Working alongside JLR's engineering team in the UK, the facility will play a role in realising the company's vision for electric and automated driving vehicles by developing new technologies to features on future vehicles.

The luxury car manufacturer said it had selected Shannon as it was globally recognised as a centre of excellence for current and future software engineering talent.

Nick Rogers, executive director of product engineering, said: "Technical innovation lies at the heart of Jaguar Land Rover and our innovation is continuous.

"The new facility provides an exciting opportunity for us to pioneer future autonomous and electrification technologies.

"The heart of our business will always be in the UK.

How the new software engineering centre will look
How the new software engineering centre will look

"The creation of a team in Shannon strengthens our international engineering capabilities and complements our existing team of more than 10,000 engineers based in the UK."

JLR is aiming to have all new vehicle lines offered with the option of electrification from 2020 and will introduce a portfolio of electrified products across the model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles.

The new centre in Ireland is due to open later this year.