Jaguar Land Rover extends factory closures after crippling cyber attack – as car industry faces supply chain chaos

Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover will extend factory closures as it struggles to recover from a cyber attack – sparking fears of supply chain chaos ahead. 

A spokesperson for Jaguar Land Rover said: ‘Today we have informed colleagues, suppliers and partners that we have extended the current pause in production until Wednesday 1 October 2025, following the cyber incident.

‘We have made this decision to give clarity for the coming week as we build the timeline for the phased restart of our operations and continue our investigation.

‘Our teams continue to work around the clock alongside cybersecurity specialists, the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) and law enforcement to ensure we restart in a safe and secure manner.

‘Our focus remains on supporting our customers, suppliers, colleagues, and our retailers who remain open.

‘We fully recognise this is a difficult time for all connected with JLR and we thank everyone for their continued support and patience.’

Recent IT disruption aimed at Jaguar Land Rover has crippled production lines – and there are fears the firm could be vulnerable to ransom demands ahead.

The incident left motor dealers unable to register cars with the new 75 licence plate.

Pictured is the Jaguar Land Rover operations plant at Halewood, Liverpool

It is the latest major UK brand to be targeted by hackers after not only M&S and the Co-op but also Harrods fell victim to hacking chaos earlier this year.

Jaguar Land Rover admitted this month its retail and production activities had been ‘severely disrupted’ – while insisting it was working to restart its operations in a controlled manner.

The company, owned by India’s Tata Motors, said it had not found any evidence at this stage that any customer data had been stolen after it shut down its systems to mitigate impact.

But the cyber groups known as Scattered Spider and Shiny Hunters told of being able to exploit an apparent glitch in the company’s IT systems – while boasting of gaining access to customer data.

The two organisations, believed to largely comprise teenagers and young men in English-speaking nations, now describe themselves as ‘one and the same’ – while rebranding themselves as ‘Scattered Lapsus Hunters’.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow…