JAGUAR LAND ROVER, owned by Indian conglomerate Tata Motors, has temporarily halted production of its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models at its Solihull plant in the West Midlands following a parts supply failure linked to a fire at a supplier in Norway.
JLR told suppliers that it would pause production for its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models at the Solihull plant until April 8. The stoppage, which overlaps with the planned Easter shutdown, is expected to last around two weeks in total.
Workers will continue to attend the site as normal during the period.Shares of Tata Motors slipped up to 3 per cent in Indian stock exchanges on Friday (27) following early reports of the Solihull production halt.
The Range Rover and Range Rover Sport are among JLR's most profitable vehicles, making even a short-term stoppage commercially significant for its Indian parent.
A JLR spokesperson said: "Due to a part supply challenge with a supplier, we are temporarily pausing production on certain vehicle lines at our Solihull manufacturing facility. We are working closely with that supplier to resolve the issue as quickly as possible and minimise any impact on our clients or our operations."
The temporary shutdown is believed to be due to a fire at one of JLR's suppliers in Norway, which has halted shipments of parts to the West Midlands plant. The disruption is the latest in a series of setbacks for the company.
A cyberattack last year brought vehicle production to a standstill across JLR's three main UK plants in Solihull, Wolverhampton and Halewood, with the five-week halt meaning overall UK car production fell by 27 per cent in September to just over 51,000 vehicles, the worst September for the industry since 1952.
The Cyber Monitoring Centre classified the breach as a Category 3 event, with an estimated cost of £1.6 billion to JLR and a wider impact of £1.9bn on the UK economy, affecting more than 5,000 organisations.
The Solihull plant is one of JLR's most important manufacturing sites, producing some of its most profitable vehicles, making even short-term stoppages commercially significant.
The plant is also where JLR is preparing to manufacture the Range Rover Electric, the company's first electric vehicle. Analysts have warned that continued operational disruptions could cause further delays to that launch.
Tata Motors reported a consolidated net loss in the third quarter of the current financial year, a swing largely attributed to JLR's disruption from the cyberattack, which halted production and delayed deliveries.
JLR is Britain's largest automotive employer, with around 33,000 staff.
