Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) cut production in the United Kingdom till March end as it continues to work with chip needs amid the global semiconductor crisis that started in 2021, The Guardian report. JLR itself has been meeting losses for the ex 18 months.
Production cut at the factories in Solihull and Halewood starting January 2023, the report added.
Although JLR said a record order of over 2,05,000 cars this month, the ongoing chip shortage has dampened its efforts to increase the production of the latest models of its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, which produce in Solihull.
The carmaker has not yet planned to reduce shifts beyond March as it procures silicon carbide semiconductors from Wolfspeed in the US.
The report quoted a JLR spokesperson saying We continue to actively manage the operational practices of our manufacturing plants while the industry experiences ongoing global semiconductor supply chain disruption.
Demand for our cars stays strong. We expect our performance to continue improving in the second half of the year agreements with semiconductor partners bring effect, allowing us to build and deliver more vehicles to our clients, the spokesperson added.
The development comes within a week of JLR chief executive Thierry Bolloré announcing his resignation and Britain’s car show reaching just over half the pre-pandemic group in October. JLR proprietor Tata is now looking for a new chief executive.
The UK automobile industry reported 48 percent less production this year compared to 2019, despite the numbers going up seven percent compared to the previous year. Shortly, carmakers may also face a slump in demand as the country is dealing with a recession.
UK car production remains well below levels seen before the pandemic, despite an expansion in October, sculptures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show.
The initiative built 69,524 cars in October, up 7.4% from a year earlier, but the SMMT said work is still suffering from turbulent supplies of components.
There have been real shortages in the supply chain, most obviously in semiconductors, leading to erratic production, the SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes told the BBC today program.
In October, expect it to be volatile forwards, especially some parts from China.
Mr. Hawes said the UK is close to making enough chips for the car industry.
Massive investments required governments around the world, to put up billions upon billions of pounds to attract investment and build new fabs (semiconductor fabrication plants).
We should be building about a million cars a year, so when you have about 1,500 chips, you can see just how incredible the volumes of these chips you need to support the automotive industry, let alone things like personal electronics.
Jaguar Land Rover reportedly is cutting production at UK factories until spring 2023, continuing to struggle to source semiconductors amid the global shortage.
The carmaker has decided to cut production at factories in Solihull and Halewood between January and the end of March as it tries to prioritize its most profitable models, industry sources told The Guardian.
JLR, the UK’s biggest carmaker, this November reported a record order book of more than 205,000 cars, chip shortage complicated efforts to ramp up production of new versions of its Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, both made in Solihull, and its Defender, made in Slovakia, the newspaper said.
The Solihull plant in the West Midlands moves from two shifts to one in the parts of the factory that deliver the lower-price Range Rover Velar and the Jaguar F-Pace while adding an extra shift to produce Range Rover body panels. The Halewood factory in Merseyside drops to one shift. The Guardian said the factory produces the Discovery Sport and the smaller Range Rover Evoque.
JLR had not previously designed for facilitated shifts after the end of March and had been working to secure its longer-term supply of semiconductors. Last month it reported a deal with Wolfspeed in the US to provide silicon carbide semiconductors, the report noted.
A JLR spokeswoman informed The Guardian to continue actively managing the operational pattern of manufacturing plants whilst, the industry experiences ongoing global semiconductor supply chain disruption.
Demand for cars stays strong. Predict performance to continue, improving in the second half, of the year as new agreements with semiconductor members take effect, allowing us to build and deliver more vehicles to our clients.
