JLR faces 200,000 order backlog as supplies stall

JAGUAR Land Rover is faced with a record backlog order of over 200,000 vehicles due to ongoing supply issues.

The announcement was made as part of the luxury manufacturer’s sales performance figures for its second quarter.

But the West Midlands car giant, which plants at Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Wolverhampton, claimed it continued to see strong demand for its products. The company reported increasing retail and wholesale volumes in the three-months to September 30.

The total order book grew to 205,000 units, up by around 5,000 orders from June 30. Demand for the New Range Rover, New Range Rover Sport and Defender accounted for over 145,000 of the total outstanding orders.

JLR said wholesale volumes were 75,307 units – up four per cent compared to the previous quarter. It said this improvement was “lower than planned due to a lower than expected supply of specialised chips from one supplier which could not be readily re-sourced in the quarter.”

Ongoing supply issues may have resulted in delays. But it said new agreements with semiconductor suppliers are expected to enable sales improvements in the second half of the fiscal year.

A JLR spokesman told the Post: “Demand for our cars remains strong and customers are responding well to our exciting new models with the order book now at a new record 205,000 units.

The success of the Reimagine strategy is clear, with orders of 69,000 for the New Range Rover, 44,000 Defender and 33,000 New Range Rover Sport accounting for 71% of the order bank. The strength of the order book and new agreements with semiconductor suppliers give us confidence that we will see an improvement in volumes going forward.”

In a statement, the firm added: “Jaguar Land Rover reported increasing retail and wholesale volumes for the second quarter.

“Retail sales for the quarter were 88,121 vehicles, an increase of 9,296 compared with the previous quarter ending 30 June 2022.

“Compared to the first quarter, retail sales were higher in China (+38%), North America (+27%) and Overseas (+1%) but were lower in UK (-7%) and Europe (-10%).

“Wholesale volumes were 75,307 units in the period (excluding our China Joint Venture), up 4 percent compared to the previous quarter ending 30 June 2022.

“This improvement was lower than planned, primarily due to a lower than expected supply of specialised chips from one supplier which could not be readily resourced in the quarter.”