The UK built fewer cars last month after Jaguar Land Rover cyber attack

Fewer cars left UK car factories last month following a crippling cyber attack that halted production at Jaguar Land Rover and severely affected its suppliers. Total UK car production fell by a whopping 27.1 per cent.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders – a UK society representing motor manufacturers and traders – said 51,090 cars rolled out of UK factories in September 2025, compared to 70,039 in September 2024.

And commercial vehicle production continued its downward slide for the sixth month in a row. A massive 77.1 per cent fewer CVs were built last month – just 3,229 units – and if you add both cars and vans together, the UK saw a total drop of vehicle manufacturing of 35.9 per cent.

The SMMT said the car bit was pretty much all down to the “unprecedented” attack on Jaguar Land Rover’s IT infrastructure, because “other volume manufacturers” – that’d be yer Nissans and Toyotas and Stellantis brands – all reported growth.

“September’s performance comes as no surprise given the total loss of production at Britain’s biggest automotive employer following a cyber incident,” said SMMT boss Mike Hawes. “While the situation has improved, the sector remains under immense pressure.”

Indeed, JLR began a ‘phased restart’ at its ‘Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre’ and ‘Battery Assembly Centre’ on 8 Oct. It also fast-tracked a new finance scheme to support its suppliers.

Interestingly, of the 51,090 cars built last month, nearly half of them featured some form of electricity, with 24,445 cars taking the form of either battery electric, plug-in hybrid or mild hybrid. That’s an increase of 14.7 per cent versus September 2024.