'It has been a challenging quarter,' JLR boss says as carmaker reveals sales tumble in latest results
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has revealed a plunge in sales in the last few months in what's been described as a “challenging quarter” for the West Midlands' car maker which is trying to navigate through the aftermath of a major cyber attack.
The Coventry-headquartered British car making business said retail sales totalled 85,495 units between July and September, 17.1 per cent lower than the same period a year ago. The volume of wholesales for the second quarter tumbled by 24.2 per cent year-on-year to 66,165 units.
JLR, which has large manufacturing bases alongside the M54 near Wolverhampton and Telford, as well as in Solihull, said volumes reduced during a challenging quarter, reflecting production stoppages since the start of September resulting from the cyber incident at the end of August, the planned wind down of legacy Jaguar models ahead of the launch of new Jaguar and incremental US tariffs impacting JLR’s US exports
The mix of Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender models was 76.7 per cent of total wholesale volumes in Q2 FY26, down from 77.2 per cent in the quarter before and up from 67.0 per cent year‑on‑year, reflecting the prioritisation of JLR’s most profitable models.
Compared to the year before, retail volumes for the second quarter were down in all markets, by -32.3 per cent in the UK which was particularly impacted by the planned wind down of legacy Jaguar models and the cyber incident which left production frozen throughout September, while a reduction in domestically produced vehicle sales from CJLR in China was partially offset by an increase in imported vehicle sales.
“It has been a challenging quarter for JLR,” chief executive Adrian Mardell said of the results.
“In the first two months our performance was robust and in line with our expectations, against the backdrop of the planned wind down of legacy Jaguar models and the impact of incremental US tariffs. From the start of September, we have been responding to a cyber incident, which shut down our production.
"Since then, we have worked with retailers to prioritise the delivery of our world class vehicles to our clients.
"This morning we announced the phased restart of JLR’s manufacturing operations following the cyber incident. From tomorrow, we will welcome back our colleagues at our engine production plant in Wolverhampton, shortly followed by our colleagues making our world‑class cars at Nitra and Solihull.
"I would like to thank our customers, suppliers, colleagues and retailers for their commitment, hard work and endeavour in recent weeks to bring us to this moment. We know there is much more to do but our recovery is firmly underway."
The car maker has also announced a new financing scheme for struggling suppliers to fast-track payments, with cash up-front for qualifying firms suffering from the fallout of the hack.
JLR said in a statement: "Qualifying JLR suppliers will be paid much faster than under their standard payment terms, aiding their cashflow in the near term. Following an initial phase with qualifying JLR suppliers critical to the restart of production, the scheme will be expanded, including to some non‑production suppliers.
"Working with a banking partner, this short‑term financing scheme means qualifying JLR suppliers will receive a majority prepayment shortly after the point of order and a final true‑up payment on receipt of invoice. JLR’s typical supplier payment terms are 60‑days post invoice, so this scheme accelerates payments by as much as 120 days. JLR will reimburse the financing costs for those JLR suppliers who use the scheme during the restart phase, as the company returns to full production."
