UK car production fell by more than a quarter (27.1%) last month as a cyber attack at Jaguar Land Rover halted manufacturing at the plant, industry figures show.
The total number of vehicles coming off assembly lines – including cars and vans – fell an even sharper 35.9%, according to September data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
“Largely responsible” for the drop was the five-week pause in production at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) due to a malicious cyber attack, as other car makers reported growth.
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JLR’s assembly lines in the West Midlands and Halewood on Merseyside were paused from late August to early October as a result.
During this time, not a single vehicle was made. Production has since restarted, but the attack is believed to have been the “most financially damaging” in UK history at an estimated cost of £1.9bn, according to the security body the Cyber Monitoring Centre.
It was the lowest number of cars made in any September in the UK since 1952, including during the COVID-19 lockdown.
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Despite the restart, the sector remains “under immense pressure”, the SMMT’s chief executive Mike Hawes said.
The phased restart of operations led to a small boost in manufacturing output this month, according to a closely watched survey.
Of the cars that were made, nearly half (47.8%) were battery electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid.
The vast majority, 76% of the total vehicles output, were made for export.
The top destinations are the European Union, US, Turkey, Japan and South Korea.
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JLR was just the latest business to be the subject of a cyber attack.
Harrods, the Co-Op, and Marks and Spencer, are among the companies that have struggled in the past year with such attacks.
