Jaguar Land Rover Cyber Attack Halts UK Production
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has been hit by a major cyber incident that forced Britain’s biggest carmaker to halt production at key plants and disrupt retail operations during one of its busiest sales periods.
Operations ground to a halt at JLR’s factories in Solihull, West Midlands, and Halewood, Merseyside. Staff were told not to report for shifts as the company’s IT systems went offline.
The impact stretched to dealerships, just as the new 75-plate registrations launched on 1 September, a crucial moment for car sales across the country.
JLR admitted it had “proactively” taken systems offline, adding that it is “working at pace to restart global applications in a controlled manner.” The manufacturer emphasised there is no evidence so far that customer data has been compromised.
Shares in Tata Motors, JLR’s parent company, slipped almost 1% in Mumbai trading after the disruption was revealed. Tata told investors this was a “global IT issue,” with operational consequences spanning multiple sites.
Cybersecurity analysts believe the move to suspend production signals the severity of the breach.
Oakley Cox, director at Darktrace, said: “The speed of their response is telling, you don’t typically halt production unless there’s genuine concern about operational impact.”
Jaguar Land Rover (@JLR_News), the British multinational luxury car manufacturer, confirms it has been the target of a #cyberattack, possibly #ransomware. The group behind this #hack is currently unknown.#NSE $TATAMOTORS
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— VenariX (@_venarix_) September 2, 2025
The National Crime Agency and National Cyber Security Centre are now working with JLR to investigate the incident.
The source of the attack remains unclear, though it follows a series of high-profile ransomware strikes against UK retailers including Marks & Spencer, the Co-op and Harrods.
The disruption lands at a particularly fragile moment for JLR. The carmaker recently posted a 49% fall in quarterly pre-tax profits, down to £351m, blaming US tariffs and weaker sales. Revenue also fell 9.2% year-on-year to £6.6bn.
Production setbacks have already delayed the highly anticipated electric Range Rover and Jaguar launches until 2026. On top of that, the Coventry-headquartered firm is undergoing sweeping restructuring.
Up to 500 management jobs are due to be cut, while leadership changes are looming, with Tata’s finance chief, PB Balaji, set to become CEO in November.
The Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack highlights the escalating threat to British industry. Recent research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that one in four UK businesses endured a cyber-attack last year.
Experts warn that many firms risk “sleepwalking” into disaster without bolstering their defences.
For JLR, the immediate focus is clear, get systems back online and resume production.
Yet this latest crisis underlines how even iconic industrial giants remain exposed in an era where digital resilience is as critical as engineering expertise.
