JLR profits take major hit from cyber attack and competition in China

Profits have taken a major hit at West Midlands car maker JLR as it was impacted by its changing model line up, last autumn's cyber attack and competition from the Chinese market.

The manufacturer said profit before tax and exceptional items for the year to March 31, 2026 fell to £14 million while it posted a post-tax loss of £244 million.

Turnover for its fourth quarter was £6.9 billion, down by 11.1 per cent on the previous quarter, and £22.9 billion for the full year 2025/26, down 20.9 per cent year on year.

The firm said volumes and profitability were impacted year-on-year by the continued wind down of outgoing Jaguar models ahead of the new launch and the "competitive environment the automotive industry is facing in China".

JLR said profitability was also impacted by ongoing incremental US tariffs and increased variable marketing.

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The company employs thousands of people in the West Midlands at plants in Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry, where it is also headquartered, and supports businesses throughout the region's supply chain.

Profit before tax and exceptional items was £458 million in the fourth quarter and £14 million for the full year, down from a profit of £875 million and £2.5 billion respectively a year earlier.

However, it was an improvement over the third quarter for 2025/26 which was a loss of £310 million. Profit after tax in the fourth quarter was £365 million compared to £640 million in 2024/25.

For the full year, the loss after tax was £244 million compared to a profit of £1.8 billion last year.

Looking ahead, the marque said it remained "resilient and well placed" to address the geopolitical, inflationary and regulatory challenges the industry was facing and investment spend was set to remain at £18 billion for the period 2024 to 2029.

JLR chief executive PB Balaji said: "JLR faced a challenging year with revenue and profit impacted by multiple headwinds, including a pause in production following the cyber incident.

"We recovered well in the fourth quarter as production returned to normal levels, demonstrating the commitment of our people, suppliers and retail partners.

"As we look ahead into full-year 2027, we are focused on driving growth through our well differentiated 'House of Brands' and reducing our break-even volumes while we launch a slew of exciting products starting with the new Range Rover Electric, the unveiling of the first of our electric modular architecture products and the eagerly awaited new Jaguar."