Victim of an unprecedented cyberattack, automaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has paused production at all of its factories in the United Kingdom. As reported by Automotive News Europe, in addition to a potential data loss, the company reportedly lost track of some 40,000 vehicles that had already left its plants and are within its distribution network.
Update: Jaguar Land Rover contacted Auto123 to deny that it ever lost contact with the vehicles; a spokesperson stated that "JLR has full visibility and control of vehicles through tracking processes from the factory to market."
The incident, which occurred on August 31, forced JLR to halt its assembly lines.
The impact is obviously less significant for Jaguar, which currently markets only the F-Pace, production of which has already been stopped for several months.
For Land Rover, however, the production stoppage is preventing the delivery of models to dealerships around the world. According to British automotive analyst Charles Tennant, in an interview with Coventry Live, the company has reportedly lost the equivalent of nearly $1.8 billion CAD, and the losses continue to accumulate.
Said Tennant, “This is a very bad situation for the company, and it proves just how vulnerable we are.”
40,000 lost vehicles?
JLR’s headaches might not have ended there. According to Automotive News Europe, some 40,000 vehicles reportedly became untraceable following the IT breach. The vehicles, all recent Land Rover models, were assembled in recent months and have left the factory but are still awaiting delivery. JLR has now denied that report.
Other concerns
The problem is likely to affect much more than just production. The shutdown of the UK plants is also limiting the manufacturing of spare parts, which could lead to significant repair delays at dealerships.
The shutdown of all the company's IT systems is also causing delays in order processing and in tracking customer files.
Compromised data
Although JLR initially claimed that no data had been stolen, the latest findings from the investigation have raised questions. The company says it will directly contact individuals and companies potentially affected by a data breach.
According to financial analysts, the losses incurred by JLR are continuing to accumulate at a rate of $9 million per day. The restart of the assembly lines and IT systems has been pushed back to September 24, 2025, according to the manufacturer's latest official communication.