Tag Archives: Production

News

JLR Gears Up Again: Production to Restart After Six-Week Cyber Attack Shutdown

After a bruising six-week standstill triggered by a devastating cyber attack, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is finally ready to hit the ignition again. The British automaker confirmed it will begin restarting production on Wednesday, marking the beginning of what it calls a “controlled, phased restart” across its global manufacturing network.

The recovery begins tomorrow, October 8, with the reopening of JLR’s Wolverhampton engine plant and Birmingham battery centre — the heart of its powertrain operations. Stamping facilities in Castle Bromwich, Halewood, and Solihull will follow, along with the Solihull body shop, paint shop, and logistics centre — all crucial arteries feeding JLR’s global output.

Vehicle manufacturing itself will return “closely” after, according to the company. The first models off the line will be the Land Rover Defender and Discovery at the firm’s Nitra, Slovakia, facility, alongside the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport at Solihull, the brand’s historic home.

What remains uncertain is the timing of production at Halewood, currently undergoing a £500 million transformation to prepare for JLR’s next generation of electric vehicles. The plant, which builds the Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport, will resume operations “at a later date,” the company confirmed.

Controlled Restart After a Costly Blow

While the exact scale of the restart is unclear, JLR emphasized that production will ramp up gradually to ensure stability and supply chain integrity. The company has also rolled out a new financing scheme to help “qualifying” suppliers weather the storm, providing early payments to ease immediate cash flow pressures.

It’s a crucial move: the prolonged shutdown strained suppliers to breaking point, with some forced to lay off workers to stay afloat. UK government officials and parliamentary committees even intervened to monitor the situation.

“This week marks an important moment for JLR and all our stakeholders as we now restart our manufacturing operations following the cyber incident,” said JLR CEO Adrian Mardell. “Our suppliers are central to our success, and today we are launching a new financing arrangement that will enable us to pay our suppliers early, using the strength of our balance sheet to support their cashflows.”

Mardell also praised the resilience of employees and partners who worked “tirelessly” to restore operations.

The Cyber Incident That Stalled Britain’s Biggest Carmaker

The cyber attack on September 1 brought JLR’s global business to its knees. Production across all facilities — from the UK to Slovakia and India — ground to a halt as the company shut down internal systems to protect sensitive data. The move crippled parts ordering, disrupted dealer operations, and froze supply chains.

Analysts estimate the outage could have cost JLR as much as £5 million per day, with thousands of unfinished vehicles and supplier contracts left in limbo. In the same quarter last year, JLR built more than 80,000 cars — a production gap that will inevitably weigh on the brand’s Q3 performance.

Road to Recovery

As the restart unfolds, JLR faces the delicate task of rebuilding momentum while keeping cybersecurity front and center. The company, which has been transitioning toward electrification under its Reimagine strategy, cannot afford prolonged downtime — especially with new electric Range Rovers and Jaguars on the horizon.

Still, the tone from the top is one of cautious optimism. “We know there is much more to do,” Mardell said, “but our recovery is firmly under way.”

For the UK’s largest automotive manufacturer, that statement is more than reassurance — it’s a signal that one of Britain’s most storied brands is finally back on track.

Source: Autocar

News

Volvo Begins Production of ES90, Its First 800-Volt Electric Sedan

Volvo’s march toward an all-electric lineup just hit its biggest stride yet. Production of the brand-new Volvo ES90 has officially begun for European markets, marking a turning point for the Swedish automaker as it pushes toward a fully electrified future.

The ES90 isn’t just another electric sedan—it’s Volvo’s first model built on an 800-volt architecture, which allows for both longer driving ranges and significantly faster charging than any electric Volvo before. For buyers who’ve grown impatient with slow charging times, this could be the breakthrough they’ve been waiting for.

From the outside, the ES90 leans into what Volvo does best: Scandinavian minimalism wrapped in modern elegance. But this isn’t your typical three-box sedan. Instead, it blends sedan refinement with fastback adaptability and even SUV-like ground clearance, creating a sort of all-in-one design that aims to sidestep traditional compromises. Think executive comfort without the low-slung inconvenience.

Inside, the ES90 continues Volvo’s focus on safety-first, tech-forward design. The cabin runs on a next-gen core computing system built on Volvo’s Superset tech stack, giving it the ability to evolve through continuous over-the-air updates. In theory, the car you buy today should be smarter—and possibly safer—three years from now.

Safety, naturally, remains the anchor point. Volvo has built its reputation around it, and the ES90 is no exception, layering in the brand’s latest active and passive systems. But there’s also an increasing emphasis on sustainability. Produced at Volvo’s climate-neutral Chengdu plant, the ES90 carries one of the lowest carbon footprints of any Volvo yet, according to the company’s recent Life Cycle Assessment.

Francesca Gamboni, Volvo’s chief industrial operations officer, framed it this way: “The fully electric ES90 marks a major milestone as Volvo Cars steps into a new era of safety, sustainability and human-centric technology.”

Volvo opened order books for the ES90 earlier this year, with customer deliveries expected before the end of 2025 in Europe. Key Asia Pacific markets will follow shortly after.

The ES90 represents more than a single new model—it’s a litmus test for Volvo’s ability to deliver an EV that doesn’t just check the boxes but redefines how versatile an electric luxury car can be. By bridging sedan sophistication, fastback utility, and SUV practicality, the ES90 is betting that buyers no longer want to pick a lane.

Whether that gamble pays off depends on real-world range, charging network compatibility, and how well Volvo balances all that promised versatility. But one thing is certain: with the ES90, Volvo isn’t just building another EV. It’s building a manifesto.

Source: Volvo

News

BMW Hits Three Million Electrified Vehicles, and the Charge is Just Getting Started

BMW has just notched a milestone worth bragging about: its three millionth electrified vehicle has left the factory floor and into customer hands. The honor went to a 3 Series plug-in hybrid built in Munich, marking a high-voltage victory lap for the Bavarian brand.

What’s impressive isn’t just the round number. It’s the momentum. In the first half of 2025, electrified sales surged, with one in every four BMW Group vehicles sold worldwide now sporting a plug-in or fully electric drivetrain. That’s not just a blip—it’s a shift in the company’s sales backbone.

“Electrified vehicles are an elementary component of our technology-neutral product portfolio,” said Jochen Goller, BMW board member for Customer, Brands, and Sales. Translation: BMW wants to give customers choices—whether that’s all-electric or a plug-in compromise—while steadily tightening its grip on the EV space.

Europe Leads the Charge

Not surprisingly, BMW’s home turf is carrying the torch. More than 60 percent of all electrified deliveries land in Europe, where EV adoption is charging ahead thanks to incentives, infrastructure, and tighter emissions rules. In fact, electrified models now account for over 40 percent of BMW’s total European sales. Plug-in hybrids, once the unloved middle child of electrification, are suddenly enjoying a renaissance, posting a strong sales jump over last year.

Milestones Keep Coming

This isn’t BMW’s only record in 2025. Back in July, the company celebrated its 1.5 millionth fully electric vehicle, a MINI Countryman E that rolled out of Leipzig bound for a Portuguese driveway. To visualize that: line up every all-electric BMW built since the launch of the i3 in 2013, and you’d get a row of cars stretching 6,500 kilometers—basically Munich to New York City.

The Portfolio: More Than Just iX and i4

BMW isn’t resting on its laurels. Customers today can shop over 15 fully electric models across the BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce brands, plus 10-plus plug-in hybrids. Flagships like the updated BMW iX, with its claimed 700 km WLTP range, showcase just how far the company’s tech has come since it first dabbled in EVs decades ago.

BMW likes to remind the world it’s been thinking about electrification for over 50 years, tracing its lineage back to quirky experimental cars like the 1972 1602e built for the Munich Olympics. Fast-forward to 2025, and that experiment is looking like a core strategy: electric, digital, and circular.

The Road Ahead

BMW is still hedging its bets—plug-in hybrids for those not quite ready to cut the cord, and long-range EVs for early adopters. But hitting three million electrified vehicles sold proves the brand isn’t just playing catch-up. It’s shaping the curve.

After all, if Munich can get you to New York on a line of electric BMWs, the company clearly has distance on its mind.

Source: BMW