Jaguar Land Rover hit by coronavirus parts shortage
Jaguar Land Rover warned today it had enough parts for just two weeks of production amid worries about the impact of coronavirus on its supply chain in China.
The carmaker said it had been flying in parts from China in suitcases to keep production in the UK going.
“We are safe for this week and we are safe for next week and in the third week we have … parts missing,” said chief executive Ralf Speth.
“We have flown parts in suitcases from China to the UK.”
Jaguar, which has three UK car factories, joins Apple in warning of the impact of the virus on its supply chain.
The virus has killed nearly 1,900 people in China, infected 72,000 people and delayed the reopening of factories after the Lunar New Year holiday.
Speth said the firm’s Chinese factory would open next week and was “safe for the very first week”.
Sales were not currently happening in China and it was unclear when they would return, he said.
The boss of Tata Motors, JLR’s parent company, speaking at the same event, said the company does not have sufficient visibility regarding parts suppliers from China.
“We are safe for the month of February and for a good part of March,” said Guenter Butschek. “Are we fully covered at this point of time for the full month of March? Unfortunately … not.”
Last night Apple said it would miss its revenue guidance for the quarter ending in March due to the slow reopening of its factories in China which would cause a shortage of iPhones.
It also said the closure of many shops and a lack of retail footfall would hit its sales in the world’s second-largest economy.