JLR parts crisis leaves almost 5,000 cars awaiting repairs

Delays to the delivery of parts has left almost 5,000 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) cars stuck at dealerships awaiting repairs.

Speaking at the carmaker’s financial update last week, JLR chief executive, Adrian Mardell, said the firm needed to apologise to customers facing delays.

JLR has downsized its UK parts supply network from 18 warehouses to one 'super-centre', the Mercia Park complex in Leicestershire, operated by its logistics partner Unipart Logistics.

But since the "transition" started at the beginning of Q4 there has been problems supplying parts for Jaguar and Land Rover dealerships, and authorised repairers, leading to cars being parked up awaiting parts, while the JLR network ran out of loan cars for affected customers.

JLR says the situation is improving, but it is unlikely to be fully resolved until early 2024. There is still a backlog of parts orders.

Mardell said: “It was a planned transition but the transition is taking longer than we would originally have planned and, just to be clear, that’s something that nobody wished for, and that’s something that, as an organisation with our partner we’re working with here, we obviously have responsibility for the change.”

The delays are something “we do need to apologise for", he added.

“To be very, very clear, this is something we are really unhappy about.”

Mardell said he is in regular communication with Unipart, as they attempt to resolve the crisis.