Production of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) vehicles has been suspended since the end of August, following a targeted cyber attack on the carmaker.
The production shutdown has had flow-on effects to JLR’s suppliers, with the brand’s three UK plants directly employing about 34,000 people, while close to 120,000 work across its British supply chain, which consists of approximately 700 companies.
The UK Government’s £1.5 billion ($3 billion) loan guarantee to JLR will come from a commercial bank, and is backed by the Export Development Guarantee (EDG) provided by export credit agency UK Export Finance.
The carmaker will have five years to pay it back, during which time it’ll bolster its cash reserves to assist its suppliers who have been most impacted by the shutdown. At present, the BBC reports JLR has been losing approximately £50 million ($102 million) per week.
“This cyber attack was not only an assault on an iconic British brand, but on our world-leading automotive sector and the men and women whose livelihoods depend on it,” the UK’s Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said in a media release.
“Following our decisive action, this loan guarantee will help support the supply chain and protect skilled jobs in the West Midlands, Merseyside and throughout the UK.
“We’re backing our automotive sector for the long term through our modern Industrial Strategy and the landmark trade deals we’ve signed to boost exports, as part of our Plan for Change.”
Last week, JLR said it would restart production on October 1, which was later followed by an announcement that “sections of our digital estate are now up and running” on September 25.
It’s the latest series of headlines in what has been an interesting three years for JLR.
In 2023, JLR launched its “house of brands” approach which effectively made Range Rover, Defender and Discovery into off-shoots, rather than models of the Land Rover brand.
Despite this, the Land Rover badge will still feature on future models, though it may not take the price of place it once did.
Jaguar made headlines across the wider press last year when it launched an ambitious rebrand – centred around the tagline ‘Copy Nothing’ – ahead of its move to only selling EVs, with the Type 00 grand tourer set to be its first offering.
The rebrand drew widespread attention and criticism, with the brand attacked for ditching its traditional customer base.
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