Britain’s car output slumped by more than one quarter in September as a cyberattack halted production at Indian-owned Jaguar Land Rover, industry data showed Friday.
The country’s total vehicle output dropped 27.1 percent year-on-year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said in a statement.
“September’s performance comes as no surprise given the total loss of production at Britain’s biggest automotive employer following a cyber incident,” SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said in a statement.
Jaguar Land Rover froze production for more than one month owing to the attack, gradually resuming output earlier this month.
JLR, owned by India’s Tata Motors, revealed at the start of September that it had been targeted by hackers, severely disrupting sales and production and forcing the company to seek emergency funding.
The UK government agreed to a loan guarantee worth £1.5 billion ($2 billion) to help shore up the firm’s cash reserves and supply chain.
The incident caused widespread disruption across its supply chain, with unions warning that some suppliers had been at risk of collapse owing to delayed payments.
Cyber gangs have increasingly targeted UK luxury brands and retailers, including Marks and Spencer, Harrods and the Co-op food chain.
The UK car sector has struggled this year also as a result of US tariffs that impacted exports to the world’s biggest economy.
JLR went as far as halting exports of its cars to the United States in April — and later announced plans to cut up to 500 UK management jobs.
