More cuts to production at Jaguar Land Rover as brand confirms scale-backs at UK plant
The British carmaker says its site in Birmingham is undergoing “planned, extended shutdowns”
Jaguar Land Rover has announced cuts to production at one of its factories in the UK.
The manufacturer says that the Castle Bromwich site in Birmingham – where the Jaguar XE, XF, XJ and F-Type are produced – is currently undergoing “planned, extended shutdowns”.
However, the firm did confirm that no jobs will be, or have been, lost at the plant.
A statement from Jaguar Land Rover said: “We can confirm that Castle Bromwich is currently undergoing planned, extended shutdowns.
“This is due to reduced demand following challenging market conditions, especially reduced demand for diesel, in the UK. We can also confirm that there have been no job losses at the plant.”
Last week Jaguar Land Rover announced that it was scaling back production at its Halewood plant in Merseyside, amid slowing demand caused by Brexit uncertainty and consumer concern over the future of diesel vehicles.
This means a reduction in production of the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport models.
Despite this, the brand stressed it would not be closing its plant in Solihull or its engine factory in Wolverhampton.
At the time, a spokesperson said: “The automotive industry continues to face a range of challenges which are adversely affecting consumer confidence.
“Ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit is being felt by customers in the UK and in Europe where collectively, we sell approximately 45 per cent of total UK production.
“Add to this concern around the future of petrol and diesel engines, and general global economic and political uncertainty, and it’s clear to see why the industry is seeing an impact on car sales.
“As is standard business practice, Jaguar Land Rover regularly reviews its production schedules to ensure market demand is balanced.”
However, this news comes as the carmaker is named the biggest producer of vehicles and engines in the UK by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The British company manufactured 532,107 vehicles at its three UK plants and produced 305,907 ‘Ingenium’ engines.
Nevertheless, the firm recorded a 2.3 per cent fall from a record high in 2016, when it built 544,000 vehicles.
