The cyber attack that forced Jaguar Land Rover to close its factories is expected to have cost the carmaker more than £3 billion in lost sales in the final quarter of the year.
The West Midlands-based group, owned by Tata Motors, said vehicle deliveries from its factories fell 43 percent in the three months to December after hackers crippled its IT systems.
Wholesale volume, the point at which vehicles leave the production line for dealers, fell to 59,200 units between October and December, a significant decline from 104,000 in the same period last year. The previous quarter generated sales of around £7.5bn, suggesting that sales in the latest period are likely to be closer to £4bn to £4.5bn, leaving a year-on-year deficit of at least £3bn.
The disruption followed a cyber incident in late August that forced JLR to halt production worldwide in September. Production gradually resumed from October, with factories not returning to full production until mid-November, resulting in a significant backlog of deliveries.
Retail sales, i.e. the vehicles actually sold to customers, fell less sharply by 25 percent to 79,600 units in the same period. This gap suggests that dealers were able to continue selling the inventory already in gas stations even as supplies from factories dried up.
JLR said the disruption would be exacerbated by the time it would take to move vehicles through its global distribution network once production resumes.
“Quarter volumes were initially impacted by production outages following a cyber incident and the time it took to distribute vehicles globally after production restarted,” the company said.
The figures were also affected by JLR’s strategic pause in Jaguar production. The company has largely downsized its existing Jaguar model range while delaying the launch of its new Jaguar electric vehicles following controversy over design direction and uncertainty over customer demand.
Jaguar Land Rover has major production sites in Solihull in the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside, with Defender production based in Slovakia.
The group is expected to provide a more comprehensive update on the financial impact of the cyberattack and factory closures when it releases its quarterly results next month. It is understood the company plans to unveil its first new Jaguar electric models later this year as part of its wider electrification strategy.
