Middle East conflict and supplier fire hit JLR sales

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East and a fire at a major supplier contributed to a drop in sales at luxury car maker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR).

The West Midlands manufacturer said the sale of both wholesale and retail units had fallen in the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year.

In the three months to June 30, wholesale volumes were 79,300 units, a drop of 9.2 per cent on the same period last year and 16.8 per on the previous quarter.

That picture was mirrored among JLR's retail sales which were 80,000 units, down 15.3 per cent year on year and 13.8 per cent on the previous quarter.

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The Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Defender models represented 80.8 per cent of all wholesale units sold in the first quarter of 2026/27, up from 77.2 per cent last year.

It said sales in this latest quarter were affected by temporary supply constraints, including a fire at a major component supplier, market disruption linked to the conflict in the Middle East and the planned wind down of outgoing Jaguar models ahead of the launch of the Jaguar Type 01.

JLR employs thousands of people in the West Midlands at its Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre in Wolverhampton and plants in Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry and supports businesses throughout the region's supply chain.

It benefitted from a boost in wholesale volumes in the Middle East and North Africa, up by 4.5 per cent, but saw declines in other major markets such as China (-26.2 per cent) Europe (-12.1 per cent) and the UK (-5.9 per cent) while America remained flat.

Compared to the prior year, retail volumes for the first quarter were down in all markets.

The Middle East and North saw the largest fall, down 41.5 per cent, followed by China (-23.9 per cent), 'overseas' (-18.7 per cent), North America (-13.1 per cent) and Europe (-11.4 per cent).

Retail sales in the UK were relatively stable, falling just 1.8 per cent.