Jaguar Land Rover halts production at UK plants due to pandemic shortages

22 April 2021, 11:53

By Ewan Quayle

@EQjourno

Jaguar Land Rovers has halted production at two of its UK plants due to coronavirus pandemic shortages.

The company said operations at the Castle Bromwich and Halewood sites would be affected for a "limited period" from next Monday.

It said a shortage of semi-conductor chips, widely blamed for disruptions among rivals and other companies which rely on the special equipment, was likely due to shipping problems caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.

In a statement said, the company said: "Like other automotive manufacturers, we are currently experiencing some Covid-19 supply chain disruption, including the global availability of semi-conductors, which is having an impact on our production schedules and our ability to meet global demand for some of our vehicles.

"As a result, we have adjusted production schedules for certain vehicles which means that our Castle Bromwich and Halewood manufacturing plants will be operating a limited period of non-production from Monday 26th April.

"Manufacturing continues at our Solihull plant. We are working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimise the impact on customer orders wherever possible."

The firm last paused production at its plants in Merseyside and Solihull in February due to cost-cutting measures as demand for its range slowed.

JLR announced a 2.3% drop in sales in the three months to December 2020 and has targeted billions of pounds worth of savings in recent months.

Other companies including Honda, which is closing its Swindon plant, is among many UK manufacturers to have expressed frustration at the shortage of parts, while Renault admitted earlier on Thursday that its sales were also being affected by the semi-conductor issue.