Jaguar Land Rover cyberattack hits UK car production

Friday 24 October 2025 12:01
| Updated:

Thursday 23 October 2025 14:16

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The most expensive cyber attack in British history suffered by Jaguar Land Rover contributed to a nearly 30 percent drop in car production in September, according to new figures.

Jaguar Land Rover was forced to halt production for five weeks from September 1, costing the UK around £1.9 billion.

According to research from the Cyber ​​Monitoring Center (CMC), a nonprofit group that tracks major cyber incidents, found that about 5,000 organizations across the country were impacted by the attacks.

Jaguar Land Rover only partially restarted operations in the UK earlier this month and is not expected to fully recover until January 2026.

According to new figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), UK car production fell by 27.1 per cent in September.

A total of 51,090 vehicles left factory gates in the month, and JLR’s cyberattack was largely responsible for the decline as other major manufacturers reported growth.

Nearly half (47.8 percent) of the cars made in the month were battery-powered, plug-in hybrids or hybrids, with volume up 14.7 percent to 24,445 units.

Overall car production for the UK market slumped by 34.1 percent to 12,269 units while exports fell by 24.5 percent.

A total of 38,821 cars were made for the global market – representing 76 percent of overall production – with the EU, US, Turkey, Japan and South Korea the top five destinations.

However, commercial vehicle production fell for the sixth month in a row, this time by 77.9 percent to 3,229 units.

SMMT said the slump was mainly due to “consolidation of operations by the leading manufacturer” – Stellantis.

As a result, combined car and van production fell 35.9 percent in September to 54,319 vehicles.

To date, UK car and van factories have produced a total of 582,250 vehicles, down 15.2 percent compared to the same period in 2024.

Car industry plea to Reeves before Budget

The figures have been published ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Budget on November 26 and amid calls from the car manufacturing industry to introduce policies to support it.

The sector has warned of “severe and lasting damage to jobs and the competitiveness of the industry” if Reeves “presses ahead with plans to end” the critical Employee Car Ownership Scheme (ECOS).

SMMT said the scheme is “an important part of the manufacturer’s remuneration package” allowing employees access to the products they make and sell at affordable prices.

However, the industry body said the government intended to reclassify ECOS vehicles to be subject to company car tax, thereby “putting them beyond the reach of most motoring workers”.

According to SMMT’s new analysis, 60,000 automotive manufacturing workers could be affected, reducing the value of their wages and leaving them without personal transportation.

He added that the impact would be “particularly severe for factory workers in areas that do not have adequate public transport, making it more difficult to work flexible shift patterns and harder to recruit workers in a sector that is already experiencing a skills shortage”.

The SMMT also said that this could lead to 80,000 fewer new car sales per year, “irreparable damage to the near-new and used markets, and an equally significant reduction in UK production volumes of up to 20,000 cars”.

The industry body said the cuts would result in a loss of more than £1 billion in revenue, endangering around 5,000 manufacturing jobs, and a £500 million loss to government finances from lost VAT and Vehicle Excise revenue.

Mike Hawes, CEO of SMMT, said: “September’s performance was not a surprise given the total loss of production at the UK’s largest automotive company following a cyber incident.

“Even though the situation has improved, the sector is still under enormous pressure.

“The Industrial Strategy, launched by the prime minister, business minister and chancellor in June, seeks to align the government’s policy on growth and restore UK vehicle production to 1.3 million units per year.

“The move to abolish ECOS immediately calls those ambitions into doubt and must be withdrawn given the impact on the sector and state revenues.”

Sales fall at Jaguar Land Rover

Earlier this month, Jaguar Land Rover reported its wholesale sales during the second quarter of its financial year fell 24.2 per cent to 66,165 compared to the same period last year.

Its retail sales in the period totaled 85,495, down 17.1 percent.

In addition to the impact of the cyber attack, Jaguar Land Rover said its volumes were also affected by Jaguar’s planned reduction of older models and increases in US tariffs.

At the time, CEO Adrian Mardell said: “This has been a challenging quarter for JLR.

“In the first two months, our performance was strong and in line with our expectations, against the backdrop of planned reductions in older Jaguar models and the impact of rising US tariffs.”

Jaguar Land Rover is scheduled to report its financial results for the second quarter in November.