UK backing enabled JLR to focus on swift recovery: Trade Secretary Peter Kyle

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which suffered a cyberattack in August that disrupted its global production, is now on track for recovery, announcing a phased resumption of operations starting Wednesday.

The turnaround follows the UK government’s extension of a £1.5-billion loan guarantee to help the Tata Group-owned luxury carmaker stabilise its supply chain. The cyberattack had forced production stoppages and cost JLR an estimated £7 million a day.

The financial support was approved earlier this month by UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle, who is in Mumbai on a two-day visit with PM Keir Starmer and a 125-member delegation of CEOs, entrepreneurs, university heads, and cultural leaders. Kyle told TOI that the UK government’s backing has enabled JLR to focus on recovery, which he described as “quite swift.”


Kyle added that production of the Range Rover Sport model will resume this week. “We’re now going to see a steady stream of systems and therefore production coming back online,” he said. Kyle, who assumed office as business and trade secretary just over a month ago, is also expected to meet Tata Group leadership during his Mumbai visit. Tata is the largest Indian investor and employer in the UK.

On the cyber incident, Kyle said, “It’s too early to make conclusions about the full nature of the attack and its origins. The British government is working very closely with JLR to bring the company back to full production.” A hacker group calling itself ‘Scattered Lapsus$ Hunters’ claimed responsibility for the breach, which forced JLR to shut down its IT systems.

With inputs from TOI