A global shortage of semiconductor chips has hit production at Jaguar Land Rover and the company now says leasing firms face delays of a year or more for delivery of vehicles. Tony McDonough reports
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) says the global microchip shortage means leasing companies face up to waits of a year or more for deliveries of company car vehicles.
And the company says the models affected by the disruption to production include the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque. Both are assembled at its Halewood factory in Merseyside.
In April this year JLR, Britain’s biggest carmaker, had to temporarily halt production at Halewood and its plant at Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands. This was due to a global shortage of semiconductor computer chips. These are essential for modern vehicles which relay heavily on digital technology.
In late July the company revealed pre-tax losses of £110m for the three months to June 30 from revenues of around £5bn. It put the blame on the disruption caused by the chip shortage. And it expects the situation to get worse before it gets better.
READ MORE: Why hasn’t Jaguar Land Rover had its chips?
Now JLR has warned leasing firms that lead times for 53 of its model variants are now in excess of one year. The cars affected include versions of the 2022 model year Jaguar E-Pace, Land Rover Discovery, Land Rover Discovery Sport, Range Rover Evoque, and Land Rover Defender.
In a briefing note to leasing firms, the company said: “Although these (models) can remain open for quoting and ordering on your systems if you choose, your supplying retailer will not be in a position to accept orders for these derivatives due to extended lead times.”
In a statement, JLR aded, “Like other automotive manufacturers, we are currently experiencing some COVID-19 supply chain disruption, including the global availability of semi-conductors, which is having an impact on our production schedules.
We continue to see strong customer demand for our range of vehicles. We are working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimise the impact on customer orders wherever possible.”