Tata-owned JLR to cut production in UK till March as chip shortage persists: Report

Jaguar Land Rover, owned by Tata Motors, is cutting production at its UK factories till March 2023 as it continues to face chip shortage issue, said a report on Friday.

"The carmaker, whose CEO Thierry Bolloré last week announced his resignation, has decided to cut production at factories in Solihull and Halewood between January and the end of March as it tries to prioritise its most profitable models," reported Guardian.

JLR and other carmakers have been plagued by shortages of semiconductors since early 2021. JLR's performance is key to Tata Motors as it contributes nearly 60% to the latter's revenue from operations.

"JLR, the UK’s biggest carmaker, this November reported a record order book of more than 205,000 cars, but the chip shortage has complicated its efforts to ramp up production of new versions of its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, which are both made in Solihull, and its Defender, which is made in Slovakia," reported Guardian. 

"We continue to actively manage operational patterns of our manufacturing plants while the industry experiences #semiconductor supply disruptions. Demand remains strong, expect performance to continue improving in second half of the year," said JLR in a statement after the Guardian story got published.

JLR last year announced an electrification strategy under which all Jaguar cars would be fully electric by 2024 and an electric option would be offered across its entire portfolio including Land Rover.

JLR has been lossmaking for the past 18 months, but at the company’s presentation of the most recent financial results this November Bolloré said he believed that semiconductor supply would improve in the coming months.

JLR hired former Renault boss Bollore as CEO in 2020, mandating him with the task of returning Britain's biggest carmaker to profit after it took a big hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. His resignation is effective Dec. 31, JLR said.

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