Production at Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc's U.K. plants will remain suspended for a few more weeks against the backdrop of the rapidly evolving Covid-19 situation in that country.
The U.K.'s largest carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors Ltd., plans an "orderly return" to production at its plants in Castle Bromwich, Solihull, and Halewood in the West Midlands and northern regions of England.
"Our manufacturing sites are on a controlled stop and continue to adhere to government advice," JLR said in a statement. "Against the backdrop of rapidly changing circumstances, we have decided to extend this for a few more weeks. We are working on an orderly return to production as soon as conditions permit.”
The company said it is "rigorously" following the guidance of all the relevant authorities in the countries in which it operates and will work towards a "phased" return to production as soon as conditions permit, including implementing robust screening protocols to best practice standards.
Sales Plummet
JLR has reported a 42 percent decline in sales of Jaguar models between January and March, while sales of Land Rover SUVs declined 25 percent. In 2019-20, the company's sales fell 12 percent year-on-year to 508,659 vehicles, primarily due to the coronavirus pandemic surfacing in the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.
"(The fiscal) 2019-20 has been a year of unprecedented disruption for the automotive sector. Despite the impact of regulatory change, shifting consumer tastes, Brexit and ongoing trade tensions, sales for Jaguar and Land Rover were showing improvement until the coronavirus pandemic hit in the fourth quarter," JLR's Chief Commercial Officer Felix Brautigam said in the statement.
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Despite the impact of the coronavirus, the company said its retail sales of the new Range Rover Evoque were up 24.7 percent year-on-year and sales of the all-electric Jaguar i-Pace increased 40.0 percent. The very first sales of the new Land Rover Defender also took place in the fourth quarter.
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