Jaguar Land Rover's Sales Plummet Amid US Tariffs and Cyber Attack
The British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has seen its sales slump sharply in the final quarter of last year due to various factors, including US tariffs and a devastating cyber-attack. The firm reported a 43.3% decline in wholesale volumes and a 25.1% drop in retail sales, with the latter falling short of production levels.
The attack, which occurred in late August, forced JLR to suspend production at its factories in the UK, Slovakia, Brazil, and India for several weeks. Production only returned to normal by mid-November, but distribution of vehicles globally took time. Additionally, the company cited "incremental US tariffs impacting JLR's US exports" as another factor contributing to the decline.
The cyber-attack was followed by a planned wind-down of older models before the launch of the new Jaguar electric vehicle. However, the car faced an online backlash over its teaser trailer that failed to feature the actual car itself, prompting criticism from Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO. JLR design boss Gerry McGovern defended the brand's "fearless creativity," but departed just four months after Tata Motors' PB Balaji took charge as the company's new CEO.
The decline in sales was seen across all markets, with the UK experiencing a 13.3% drop in retail sales and North America plummeting by 37.7%. Wholesale volumes also declined sharply, falling most in North America. The Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Defender models made up nearly three-quarters of sales, while shares in Tata Motors, JLR's parent company, fell by as much as 4% on the news before recovering to be down 2%.
The figures mark a significant decline for JLR, which has struggled with production issues following the cyber-attack. The rise in popularity of Chinese brands also pushed total car sales in the UK above the 2m mark last year for the first time since 2019, with Chinese companies accounting for 9.7% of new car registrations.
The British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has seen its sales slump sharply in the final quarter of last year due to various factors, including US tariffs and a devastating cyber-attack. The firm reported a 43.3% decline in wholesale volumes and a 25.1% drop in retail sales, with the latter falling short of production levels.
The attack, which occurred in late August, forced JLR to suspend production at its factories in the UK, Slovakia, Brazil, and India for several weeks. Production only returned to normal by mid-November, but distribution of vehicles globally took time. Additionally, the company cited "incremental US tariffs impacting JLR's US exports" as another factor contributing to the decline.
The cyber-attack was followed by a planned wind-down of older models before the launch of the new Jaguar electric vehicle. However, the car faced an online backlash over its teaser trailer that failed to feature the actual car itself, prompting criticism from Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO. JLR design boss Gerry McGovern defended the brand's "fearless creativity," but departed just four months after Tata Motors' PB Balaji took charge as the company's new CEO.
The decline in sales was seen across all markets, with the UK experiencing a 13.3% drop in retail sales and North America plummeting by 37.7%. Wholesale volumes also declined sharply, falling most in North America. The Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Defender models made up nearly three-quarters of sales, while shares in Tata Motors, JLR's parent company, fell by as much as 4% on the news before recovering to be down 2%.
The figures mark a significant decline for JLR, which has struggled with production issues following the cyber-attack. The rise in popularity of Chinese brands also pushed total car sales in the UK above the 2m mark last year for the first time since 2019, with Chinese companies accounting for 9.7% of new car registrations.
. I mean, who doesn't love a good excuse for why their sales tanked? Tariffs, cyber attacks, and a teaser trailer that didn't even show the actual car 
. Sounds like they had a blast blaming everyone else for their problems.
. Can't handle a little online backlash when you're trying to sell electric cars left and right? JLR design boss Gerry McGovern basically said the brand is all about "fearless creativity" – sounds like someone got roasted 
.
. On the bright side, their parent company Tata Motors is still in business, so at least they haven't gone bankrupt yet 
.
Jaguar Land Rover is like a favorite luxury car brand or something... I mean, I had an aunt who owned one and it was super fancy 
. Anyway, the tariffs thing is pretty obvious too - import taxes are always gonna hurt sales 
. And Elon Musk calling them out over the teaser trailer? Like, chill, dude 
. It's just a marketing ploy, right? 
I'm not buying it (literally). Anyway, it's interesting to see how JLR is getting trounced by Chinese brands in the UK market... maybe they should've gotten into electric cars sooner 
.
they need to sort out their cyber attack issues ASAP and get those production levels back up 
or it's gonna be a tough year for them 
the fact that elon musk is still giving them grief over that teaser trailer though 
I'm not surprised to see JLR taking a hit like this. Those US tariffs have been weighing on them for ages and now this cyber-attack just puts the final nail in the coffin... or at least makes it harder for them to get their cars out to customers. I mean, who wants to buy a car that's been delayed because of some online security scare? 
how r u supposed 2 b productive w/ no internet?? and elon musk is low-key my idol lolol cant belive ppl cld be so salty over a teaser trailer 
gotta love the drama tho 
. cyber attack, tariffs, production issues... it's like they're trying to break the company or something 
. maybe they should've focused more on electric vehicles from the start 
are no joke. and on top of that they had to downsize their older models before the new electric one hits the market 
. i'm not surprised the sales took a dip 
, especially with Elon Musk throwing shade 
at JLR's teaser trailer. but you gotta give it to Gerry McGovern 
for defending the brand's creativity 
. anyway, it's clear that JLR has some serious catching up to do 
... meanwhile, Chinese brands are killing it in the UK market 
!