UK's largest car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will reduce its UK factories' output until spring because of the chip shortage, The Guardian reported on Friday, citing sources from the industry
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2022) UK's largest car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will reduce its UK factories' output until spring because of the chip shortage, The Guardian reported on Friday, citing sources from the industry.
The company decided to shrink production at factories in Solihull and Halewood from January to March, according to the media. The factories will move to one shift from current two shifts and will prioritize manufacturing more expensive models and parts.
In November, JLR reported receiving more than 205,000 car orders, which is a record breaking amount, while the company was in doubt whether global semiconductor deficit would not affect terms of cars deliveries, especially Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models produced in Solihull, The Guardian said.
In October, JLR's output was slightly more than 50% of pre-pandemic 2019 level. JLR was in the red for the last 18 months, however its former CEO Thierry Bollore, who resigned last week, said earlier in November the situation with semiconductors would improve due to its recent contract with a US company Wolfspeed.
"We expect to continue to improve our performance in the second half of the year, as new agreements with semiconductor partners take effect, enabling us to build and deliver more vehicles to our clients," the newspaper quoted him as saying.
The UK automotive industry reportedly manufactured 69,524 cars last month, which is 7% more compared to the same period in 2021, however 48% less than in 2019
Many car manufactures throughout the world, including Jaguar Land Rover, have been experiencing semiconductors deficit since early 2021 due to the global COVDI-19 pandemic.
