The cyberattack that paralyzed Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) for more than a month continues to test the British automotive industry, which recorded “another difficult month” in October after a sharp drop in production in September.
The incident, discovered on September 2, forced JLR to shut down its systems and production, which was able to resume in early October, putting the manufacturer and its suppliers under pressure.
According to figures published on Friday by the sector association (SMMT), lCar production in the United Kingdom fell 23.8% year-on-year in Octobermonth in which JLR “began the progressive recovery of its activities.”
This regression occurs after an even greater decline of 27.1% in Septemberat the height of the incident.
“It was another difficult month for British production,” Mike Hawes, director general of the SMMT, commented in a statement, who however was optimistic after the budget presented on Wednesday by the British Finance Minister, Rachel Reeves.
“Growth is emerging and the government recognizes the national strategic importance of the automotive industry, which it supports through an industrial strategy and an additional contribution of 1.5 billion pounds (1.985 million dollars) to strengthen the competitiveness of the manufacturing sector,” he said.
Instead, “the introduction of a new tax on electric vehicles is a bad measure, taken at the wrong time,” he warned.
British car manufacturers had already suffered, in the first half of the year, a sharp drop in exports to the United States due to tariffsbefore a rebound in July, after the trade agreement between London and Washington.
Owned by the Indian group Tata Motors, JLR received support from the British government at the end of September through a loan guarantee that allowed it to unlock up to £1.5bn to support its production.
In mid-November, the manufacturer assessed the impact of the cyberattack at 196 million pounds ($259 million).
The incident occurred after a wave of similar cases that affected several retail chains in the United Kingdom, such as Marks & Spencer (M&S), Harrods and Co-op.
The government said cyber attacks will cost the British economy £14.7 billion ($19.4 billion) in 2024.