The company, bought by Indian giant Tata Motors earlier this year, has already laid off agency staff, had several non-production days and will later this month stop production at Halewood for a week as it bids to cope with the effects of falling sales.
Tata last month issued a prospectus for a new share issue it hopes will raise £487m towards some of the costs of its JLR purchase. The prospectus showed JLR reported an overall loss of £207m after tax, despite growing its operating profits to £372m, and warned conditions would stay tough for luxury car-makers.
The SMMT wants to see Government action to restore consumer confidence, get people buying new cars and protect jobs.
And, last week, JLR managing director David Smith called on the Government to offer a support package to the UK motor industry, similar to the £14bn-plus package US lawmakers have offered that country’s motor sector.
The US package is designed to help vehicle manufacturers develop new green technology to make their cars more fuel-efficient.
Car-makers are facing increasing pressure from governments to cut CO² emissions, while buyers are becoming more interested in fuel efficiency as petrol and diesel prices keep rising.
JLR is ahead of the game when it comes to making its vehicles more fuel-efficient. Its LRX concept vehicle – likely to be built at Halewood – is designed to be smaller and more fuel-efficient than existing models, while the company is committed to exceeding Government targets for reducing CO² emissions.
But those measures cost money – Land Rover alone is investing £700m across its UK business in developing green technologies – and the industry is now looking for Government support to help it prepare for the future.
Mr Smith says that, if the US needs to take a bold move, we do, too, and the quicker the better. Otherwise the impact on manufacturing, and jobs in the sector, will be severe.
THE SMMT is today publishing its latest annual Sustainability Report highlighting how the motor industry, which it calls the continent’s largest investor in research and development, is creating new environmentally-friendly technology.
