JLR Q2 Update: Sales Slump In Quarter Hit By Production Pause
JLR's factory output was paused in September as the British luxury carmaker was hit by a cyber attack.
JLR, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors Ltd. posted a 24.2% and 17.1% year-on-year decline in its wholesale and retail sales, respectively, for the second quarter of this fiscal, according to an exchange filing on Tuesday.
Apart from sales, the company's production volumes also slipped as its factories were shut in September, as a cyber attack crippled the operations.
Among other reasons for the decline were the winding down of legacy Jaguar models ahead of the launch of its new Jaguar, and the incremental US tariffs that impacted the automaker's exports to the American market, as per the filing.
The British luxury carmaker also posted a decline in volumes due to the production pause last month. Wholesale volumes for the second quarter stood at 66,165 units excluding the Chery Jaguar Land Rover China JV, down 24.2% in comparison to the quarter ending June. The overall mix of Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender models was 76.7% of the total wholesale volumes in the quarter ended September, down from 77.2% in the prior quarter and up from 67% year-on-year.
The second quarter update follows JLR's announcement that it has begun phased-restart of its manufacturing operations after the cyber attack incident.
Retail Sales Down
Retail sales for the second quarter stood at 85,495 units, down 8.7% quarter-on-quarter. In comparison to 2024, retail volumes were down in all markets. In the UK, it was down 32.3%, while it declined 22.5% in China and 15.8% in MENA. The retail volumes were also down 9% in North America, 12% in Europe and 4.1% overseas.
The company, explaining the decline, said the fall in retail volumes in UK were due to the planned wind-down of legacy Jaguar models and the cyber incident in September. Also, it noted that 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. 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," said Adrian Mardell, chief executive office of JLR.
