Jaguar Land Rover has suffered a sharp fall in sales after a cyberattack crippled production across its factories, a disruption that may have cost the company more than £3 billion in lost revenue over the past quarter, according to analysis reported by Times UK. The West Midlands-based carmaker said shipments collapsed after its operations were halted for weeks following the attack.
JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, reported that wholesale vehicle shipments fell by 43 per cent in its third trading quarter, covering the period from October to December. Just 59,200 vehicles were shipped to dealerships worldwide, compared with 104,000 in the same period a year earlier, when the company generated revenues of £7.5 billion.
The steep decline followed a cyber incident at the end of August that forced JLR to shut down factories globally for the whole of September. Although production restarted in October, output only returned to normal levels by mid-November, significantly reducing the number of vehicles available for shipment during the quarter. Based on shipment volumes, revenues for the period are now expected to be between £4 billion and £4.5 billion, implying a year-on-year shortfall of at least £3 billion.
Retail sales, which measure vehicles delivered to customers rather than dealers, fell by a smaller margin. JLR said retail volumes declined 25 per cent to 79,600 vehicles, suggesting that dealerships were able to cushion the impact of lower production by selling down existing inventory.
In a statement, the company said that volumes were “initially impacted by production stoppages following a cyber incident, and the time required to distribute vehicles globally after production restart”. JLR operates major manufacturing sites in Solihull and Halewood in the UK, with additional production in Slovakia, where Defender vehicles are built.
The disruption was compounded by strategic changes within the group. JLR has largely halted production of Jaguar-branded cars as it winds down older models and delays the launch of new electric Jaguars, a decision that has been controversial amid questions over design direction and consumer demand.
JLR is expected to provide a fuller account of the financial impact of the cyberattack and factory shutdowns when it publishes detailed results next month, as scrutiny grows over the resilience of industrial IT systems and the scale of losses cyber incidents can inflict on major manufacturers.
