Automotive News – Late September 2025
Estimated reading time 3 minutes
It could take months before the benefits of Jaguar Land Rover resuming production filters down to the supply chain, a chamber of commerce said.
JLR has said it would resume some production in the “coming days” after a cyber-attack forced the carmaker to suspend operations.
At the weekend it emerged the government will underwrite a £1.5bn loan guarantee to the company in a bid to support its suppliers. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c77dmyeze40o
With an estimated 1.6 million electric cars already on UK roads, and regulation that requires EVs to account for 80% of all new car registrations by 2030, the ability to service, repair and maintain these vehicles is increasingly important. Now is the time, therefore, to invest and prepare for EV growth – and the UK aftermarket sector is doing just that, as SMMT’s latest report, Jobs, Growth, Mobility – What the aftermarket needs to deliver, sets out. More than four in five workshops surveyed for the report are equipped to service EVs, with most expecting to spend more on this capability over the next year – while at the same time upskilling and retooling to handle increasingly advanced driver assistance technology, which now features in eight in 10 new cars.
Vehicle production slips back in August.
• Car manufacturing output falls -10.2% in traditionally quieter ‘summer shutdown’ month.
• Electrified car volumes rise 40.9% to 16,830 units accounting for almost half of output.
• Commercial vehicle production declines -73.2% with 1,621 units leaving factory gates.
UK car production fell in August, breaking a two-month growth run, according to the latest figures published today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). 37,072 units rolled out of factories in what is traditionally the quietest month of the year, with planned summer shutdowns taking place to enable maintenance and retooling. The figures come before the cyberattack on the UK’s largest automotive employer, the effects of which will likely be evident in September’s performance.
New event drives gains for Britain’s £4.5 billion truck bodybuilder sector.
• Businesses involved in bodywork manufacturing deliver 53.1% increase in UK economic contribution, with more than 1,000 companies now competing in vibrant market.
• HGV registration data reveals rigids are Britain’s most popular new truck type – presenting ample opportunity for growth in heavy bodybuilder sector.
• New SMMT Meet The Heavy Bodybuilder event brings together nine leading OEMs and 14 bodybuilders to help drive business in crucial market.
Leading heavy vehicle Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) have met with more than a dozen businesses specialising in the customisation of Britain’s most popular truck type at Meet The Heavy Bodybuilder, a new event hosted by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). https://www.smmt.co.uk/new-event-drives-gains-for-britains-4-5-billion-truck-bodybuilder-sector/
Labour MPs from the West Midlands and Merseyside have called on the government to provide urgent support for Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and its vast network of suppliers, warning that the £1.5bn loan guarantee announced last week may not be enough to protect jobs and stabilise the company.
The UK’s largest carmaker has kept its plants in Solihull, Wolverhampton, and Halewood offline since 31 August following a major cyber-attack, with production now suspended until at least 1 October. The manufacturer announced today (September 29) that “some sections of our manufacturing operations will resume in the coming days”.
