JLR suffers estimated £1.5 billion hit from sales lost after cyber attack

The devastating cyber attack on JLR has resulted in an estimated £1.5 billion drop in revenue, after sales plummeted by nearly a quarter across the three-month period including the September shutdown. Sales to dealers fell 24% in the three months to the end of September to 66,165, new figures released by JLR show. The drop represents the loss of 21,138 cars compared with the same period in 2024. Multiplied by the £72,000 average revenue per car that JLR receives from sales to dealers, that means the company will take a hit of £1.52 billion. JLR will present its second quarter financial report in November. Sales to customers were higher, at 85,495, as dealers were able to offload their inventory, but those too fell 17% in the quarter. UK sales took a bigger hit globally as the factory shutdowns from 1 September filtered through to dealers earlier than international markets, with retail sales down 32% for the three months. The UK drop was also higher because Jaguar sales fell to zero in September ahead of the brand’s reinvention as an electric luxury car maker. “It has been a challenging quarter for JLR,” outgoing CEO Adrian Mardell said in a statement. However, he said that sales in July and August had been “in line with our expectations” before the cyber attack. China was the second-worst region for JLR in terms of sales performance, with retail sales down 22%. The company has been a battling a recent drop in demand there for cars from traditional luxury and premium brands. At the same time, JLR's joint venture with Chinese car maker Chery has been winding down production of existing JLR models at its plant in Shanghai, ahead of next year’s introduction of the new Chery-based Freelander. JLR has announced that it will restart production at its engine plant in Wolverhampton tomorrow (Wednesday 8 October), and the Land Rover Defender plant in Slovakia and Range Rover plant in Solihull are due to follow "shortly". JLR’s second-quarter financial results will be hit by not just the £1.5bn revenue loss stemming largely from the shutdown but also the continued effect of the US tariffs, which are now 10%, compared with 2.5% previously, as well as the weakening US dollar, which makes imports more expensive. JLR will continue to feel the effects of the shutdown into the fourth quarter of the year as it works to replenish dealer stock and fulfils customer orders again. The shortage will however mean JLR can reduce discounting, which had been rising as the market became more competitive globally. One dealer speaking to Autocar said that before the shutdown, oversupply had been a problem for JLR.

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JLR suffers estimated £1.5 billion hit from sales lost after cyber attack

Firm's sales dropped significantly in September as production and sales were incapacitated by hack

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