In a major relief for the Tata Group-owned luxury carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has confirmed that production has now resumed across all of its global manufacturing facilities. The restart of the final plant marks the end of a controlled recovery process that followed the crippling cyberattack which forced a total operational shutdown for six weeks, beginning in early September.
- Six-week cyber shutdown cost JLR GBP 50 million a week
- Halewood plant restarts, completing JLR’s production recovery
- Phased restart ensures IT and supply chain integrity post-cyberattack
Halewood restart completes JLR reboot
JLR describes the restart as “controlled, phased”, initial output remains limited as production ramps back up.
The last major facility to restart was the Halewood plant in Merseyside, UK. This factory is critical for JLR’s volumes, as it manufactures the Range Rover Evoque and the Land Rover Discovery Sport. Its return to production signifies that all of JLR’s three UK factories: Halewood, Solihull, and Wolverhampton are now active. For Halewood, this restart also marks the resumption of a GBP 500 million transformation project for upcoming EV models.
The phased restart began with engine and component manufacturing lines before moving to the high-value assembly lines for models like the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport at Solihull, and the Defender at Nitra, Slovakia. The staggered approach was essential to verify the security and integrity of JLR’s rebuilt IT systems and supply chain flow after the system-wide breach.
Ramp‑up to full capacity will take weeks
The cyberattack forced JLR to shut down its factories and IT systems, affecting parts orders, retail operations.
While all plants are technically ‘back online’, the immediate challenge for JLR now shifts from simply operating to achieving full production capacity. Industry analysts anticipate that the complete return to normal operating speed will still take several weeks. The company faces a massive backlog of orders, particularly for its most profitable models.
A hacker group called Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters claimed responsibility, saying that it exploited a flaw in SAP Netweaver software to access customer data. The six-week shutdown is estimated to have cut GBP 1.5 billion in revenue, with wholesale dealer sales in the September quarter dropping by nearly a quarter to 66,165 units.
However, the successful resumption of all global manufacturing signals progress to market, suppliers, and customers. The resumption of all manufacturing sites indicates that core operations are back online and that JLR is progressing through a phased return to normal output.
Also see:
JLR restarts production after six-week cyberattack shutdown
JLR cyberattack: production shut until at least September 24
