Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is seeking an additional £2 billion ($A4.08 billion) in emergency funding on top of a British government-backed £1.5 billion ($A3.06 billion) loan, after a cyber attack in August forced its factories to halt production.
The shutdown, which lasted several weeks, is estimated to have cost the company around £50 million ($A102.4 million) per week. JLR confirmed that production will resume ‘in the coming days,’ following a missed target to restart on September 24.
The British government-backed loan was initially aimed at supporting JLR’s workforce and its supply chain, with about 700 companies affected by delayed payments caused by the disruption. The automaker has now begun seeking further funds to reinforce liquidity as it faces mounting financial pressures.
The cyber attack led to the temporary closure of four UK plants, along with facilities in Slovakia, Brazil, and India. As a result, production of all Land Rover models was paused, including the Defender, built in Slovakia, and the Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque, produced in the UK at Solihull and Halewood. Plans to launch the brand’s new ‘Baby Defender’ in Merseyside in 2027 remain unchanged.
Jaguar models were already off the production line as the brand prepares for its relaunch in 2026 as a luxury rival to Bentley and Porsche. In India, JLR began producing the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport in 2025, marking the first time these vehicles were built outside the UK, but these units face even higher U.S. tariffs than their UK-built counterparts.
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The cyber attack compounded existing challenges, including losses linked to tariffs following the pause in U.S. exports that began in April. The United States accounted for nearly one-fifth of JLR’s global sales in 2024, with 94,994 vehicles sold.
Despite the disruption, JLR Australia indicated that the incident is expected to have minimal impact on local showroom stock. The company continues to seek funding to demonstrate its financial resilience as it works through the fallout of the attack and volatile global market conditions.
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