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Jaguar Land Rover Automotive Plc joined the growing list of carmakers idling factories over the global semiconductor shortage, a sign the supply-chain challenge is intensifying.
JLR plans to halt output at its Castle Bromwich and Halewood factories in the U.K. for a “limited period” from April 26, the manufacturer said Thursday in an emailed statement.
The company’s first such move adds to evidence that the shortage that has pummeled the auto industry since late last year may get worse before it gets better. French manufacturer Renault SA earlier Thursday said the bottleneck’s effects could last beyond this quarter and refrained from offering a financial outlook for the year. German parts maker Robert Bosch GmbH warned the auto industry will probably have to deal with an “unsatisfactory situation for many months to come.”
JLR makes the Range Rover Evoque and Land Rover Discovery Sport models at Halewood, and Jaguar XE, XF and F-Type cars at Castle Bromwich.
Automakers from Volkswagen AG to Ford Motor Co. have been forced to idle factories as surging demand for electronic equipment during the pandemic overwhelmed suppliers. Winter storms in Texas and a fire at Renesas Electronics Corp.’s automotive chip plant in Japan exacerbated the situation this year.
“The visibility is deteriorating,” Renault’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer Clotilde Delbos said when presenting the company’s first-quarter revenue. “Two months ago we said we think the peak will be in the second quarter, but we think there will be a lingering effect at least in the third quarter if not further.”
The Guardian reported the factory halts earlier Thursday.
— With assistance by Christoph Rauwald
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