JLR orders Solihull production halt after supplier fire

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has ordered a temporary production halt of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport at its Solihull plant in the West Midlands until 8 April, following a fire at a parts supplier in Norway. The pause, which also covers a planned five-day shutdown, was communicated to suppliers on 26 March; JLR has said it is working with the affected supplier to resolve the issue and minimise impact on clients and operations.

The stoppage lands on a company still absorbing the financial consequences of last year’s cyber attack, which caused a five-month global production shutdown, cost £260m (US$345m) in lost sales and expenses, and inflicted an estimated £1.9bn in wider economic damage across JLR’s supply chain spanning some 5,000 businesses. One supplier told the Financial TImes the latest halt was “totally unexpected” and warned it could be a knockout blow for firms that successfully weathered the cyber attack but have limited capacity to absorb further lost revenue. 

JLR denied the shutdown would extend beyond 8 April. Regardless, the timing will be less-than-desirable for newly-seated Chief Executive PB Balaji, who took the reins from Adrian Mardell in December 2025 and is trying to stabilise the business while simultaneously managing the contested departure of long-serving Design Chief Gerry McGovern. 

The automaker is currently gearing up for the market launches of the all-electric Jaguar—the design of which was met with some backlash—as well as the electric Range Rover. It is doing so into a luxury electric vehicle market that appears to be softening, with compatriot premium brands Aston Martin and Bentley both backpedalling on their prior electrification agendas. US tariffs are an additional headwind, even with the US-UK trade deal in place. The US market remains JLR’s most important overseas destination.

The Solihull halt sits within a broader deterioration in UK vehicle production. Figures released on 27 March by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed output fell 17.2% in February to 68,061 units, with commercial vehicle production down nearly three-quarters year-on-year. Exports, which account for four in five vehicles built in UK, shrank by almost 15%. 

SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes characterised the numbers as “extremely worrying”, particularly given they predate the Iran conflict, which is expected to add further pressure on costs and consumer demand through the second quarter. The British government has articulated a strategy to boost UK production volumes to 1.3 million vehicles annually by 2035; among the measures it is reportedly taking is convincing Chinese automaker Chery—which sells well in the UK—to produce its vehicles at JLR’s Solihull site. 

UK vehicle production was already running at its lowest level in 73 years before last year’s cyber attack knocked output down a further 22% at JLR alone. Total UK car output has now fallen year-on-year for 15 consecutive months. The SMMT also flagged concern about the European Commission’s Industrial Accelerator Act, which as currently drafted would discriminate against UK-made vehicles and components in the EU market — threatening a trading relationship worth almost £70bn annually and potentially breaching the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement.