JLR is preparing to build its first cars in more than a month later this week, as it works to recover from a significant cyber attack that brought all its factories to a halt.
The hack incapacitated the Land Rover maker, forcing it to shut down its internal computer systems in an effort to protect data from being stolen. This resulted in production shutdowns at all of its global plants, created issues with parts ordering and stifled retailers.
The company says "some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in the coming days", having not produced any vehicles since the attackers hit on 1 September.
It has not given any further details about which factories will restart first, nor what its target volumes will initially be, but said production will restart in a "controlled, phased" manner, suggesting volumes will initially be restricted.
The company earlier said it planned to restart production from 1 October at the earliest.
In a statement sent to Autocar today (29 September), a JLR spokesperson said: "We continue to work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the UK Government’s NCSC [National Cyber Security Centre] and law enforcement to ensure our restart is done in a safe and secure manner.
“We would like to thank everyone connected with JLR for their continued patience, understanding and support.
"We know there is much more to do but the foundational work of our recovery is firmly underway, and we will continue to provide updates as we progress.”
Even if JLR is able to start resuming production on 1 October, getting all its engine and car lines up and running could take months. The firm will have lost at least a full month of vehicle production.
The impact on volumes will be made clear when the company releases its production numbers for the quarter, but in the three months to the end of September last year, it produced more than 80,000 cars.
The effect could be costing JLR up to £5 million a day, business economics professor David Bailey has told Autocar.
The restart comes after the UK government said it will guarantee a £1.5 billion loan to JLR, to help it support suppliers who have been hit by the production shutdown.
The loan to the Tata-owned car firm will be issued by a commercial bank, but will be underwritten by the UK government.
Join the debate
Add your comment
At the end of last year, long before Mr Trump introduced his tariffs, the EU imposed a 20% import duty on imported cars from China, the argument being unfair competition because the Chinese gov subsidised their car industry.
So the question is, should the EU now impose a 20% import duty on JLR cars?
A loan needing to be paid back (backed by the government) is very different to companies partially owned by the government and heavily subsidised by the government!
Imagine making such an ill-consiodered comment, failing to realise their most popular, highest margin vehicles are MADE IN THE EU (Slovakia).
Hilarious
This is not JLRs mess- that is like saying that every house that gets burgled is the householders fault. JLR is due to invest around £9B in next 4 years in the UK plus up to £5B in Somerset. They have to deal with 43,000 of their own employees. Its a short term funding from Government to a sector that pays over £25B a year back into the Exchequer. TATA could easily pick everything up and move it overseas. Let's all grow up and support a key industry for over 250,000 well paid jobs that pays a lot of taxes to support a growing proportion of layabouts and old people.
This is not British tax payers' mess either. Other companies, including the likes of Microsoft, Google etc who employ thousands of people in the UK, that suffer cyber attacks have to fund their own cost issues, and don't go to the British governments for loan handouts. Tata is a huge conglomerate, easily able to afford any short-term fuding issues with JLR. If Tta threatened the UK with moving its JLR operations elsewhere (which would be a massive PR own goal), then it would be effectively engaging in finicial blackmial.
As it stands its not a tax payer mess either, JLR has taken a loan from a commericial bank.
If they default which is unlikely the government can step in and back the loan. Which lets be realistic is probably a days worth of wasted cash even if they needed to repay the entire amount and at least they would be supporting jobs and industry instead of the money just vanishing as its uaually does.
If this were to happen to Stellantis this forum would be full of trash comments, but since the Indians still assemble some cars in the UK some feel the urge to exonerate them.
JaG: Sorry chaps, looks like we won't be able to pay you this month. We've had a little bit of a hiccup in the computing and the e-letters and whatnot, it's the darndest thing! We do apologise!
JaaaaaaaaaaGGGGGGGGGGGG!