Latest news with #RangeRovers
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Trump tariffs help push U.K. auto sector to worst production figures in more than 70 years
The U.K.'s auto sector is reeling from its worst month for production since 1952—when the Morris Minor ruled the country's roads and Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne—as Trump's tariff war added to a bearish environment for the country's biggest carmakers. U.K. plants producing cars like Range Rovers, Bentleys, and Toyotas pumped out 59,200 models in April, marking the lowest monthly output figure in more than 70 years, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Carmakers are set for their worst start to the year in production terms since 2009 and the depths of the Great Recession. Commercial vehicle exports fell by more than 75% in April as automakers digested the fallout of Donald Trump's tariffs on the car industry and his more sweeping plans announced on 'Liberation Day.' Cars bound for the U.S., which took around a sixth of the U.K.'s car exports, experienced a slight decline in April, with EU exports fuelling the biggest drop. U.K. luxury carmakers, including Rolls-Royce and Aston Martin, were regarded as being particularly vulnerable to a trade war because much of their appeal comes from keeping most production from its historic local plants. Jaguar Land Rover said in early April that it would be pausing U.S. shipments while it assessed the fallout from Trump's tariff announcements. The carmaker sold more than 128,000 cars to the States, its biggest market, in 2024. The end of March also marked the closure of Stellantis-owned Vauxhall's factory in Luton, where the carmaker employed more than 1,000 workers. Employees at the 120-year-old factory faced a stark ultimatum: a 140-mile relocation north or accepting a redundancy package. A calendar quirk of the Easter break falling later in 2025, which accordingly shuttered production for an extra two days over the bank holiday, also contributed to depressed production figures, the SMMT said. Indeed, March production figures showed nearly 80,000 vehicles being produced in the U.K. that month. April's awful production figures are likely to be an anomaly, and not just owing to the quirk of the calendar. Earlier in May, the U.K. and U.S. hammered out a landmark trade deal that would see import tariffs on cars to the States reduced from 25% to 10% for the first 100,000 vehicles. The development is expected to prevent a lot of pain in the U.K. auto market, and SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes is taking a victory lap after demonstrating the sector's influence on the U.K.'s international relations. 'Government has recognised automotive manufacturing's critical role in driving the UK economy, having successfully negotiated improved trading conditions for the sector with the US, EU and India in the space of a month,' said Hawes. 'To take advantage of these trading opportunities we must secure additional investment which will depend on the competitiveness and confidence that can be provided by a comprehensive and innovative long-term industrial strategy. Get this right and the jobs, economic growth and decarbonisation will flow across the UK.' This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Jaguar Land Rover opens door to building cars in America
The boss of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has refused to rule out producing cars in America in an effort to avoid tariffs. Adrian Mardell, JLR's chief executive, said the company had no plans to move production across the Atlantic but could not dismiss the possibility for the future amid lingering questions about how the UK-US trade pact will work in practice. He said: 'We had and currently have no cause to build cars in the US at this time, but we cannot discount that it could be the case at some point.' His remarks will ring alarm bells in Whitehall as officials scramble to hammer out the practical details of the trade agreement announced by Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer last week. Mr Mardell, who sat next to the Prime Minister as he received a phone call from Mr Trump at JLR's head office last week, has welcomed the deal and says it will help to protect jobs. JLR currently makes its best-selling Range Rovers in Solihull, West Midlands, while models such as the Land Rover Discovery and Defender are made in Europe. The company was facing tariffs of up to 27.5pc on cars shipped from the UK and Europe to the US, but the trade deal means that will fall to 10pc for the first 100,000 vehicles exported by manufacturers in the UK. Following the announcement, JLR resumed shipments to the US after pausing them previously. Yet carmakers are still awaiting key details of the pact and JLR's luxury rival Bentley warned on Tuesday that the uncertainty is putting customers off from making purchases. Frank-Steffen Walliser, the chief executive of Bentley, told a Financial Times conference: 'The worst thing that can happen to a running business is the announcement of lower tariff. 'It means all your customers say 'I won't buy a car now', especially our customers, our clients don't need a car at the moment. 'It is super hard on the business at the moment, nobody's moving.' For example, he added, it was not clear how the tariff-free quota of 100,000 cars would apply to different carmakers. 'Is the 100,000 for Bentley? I can live with that,' he said. '[But] I assume our colleagues from JLR would also like to have a chunk.' In the year to the end of March, JLR sold 129,000 cars in North America – representing about one third of its global sales. The company does not break down this figure but the vast majority would have been sold in the US. Bentley, which sells around 4,000 cars per year in the Americas, similarly counts the US as its biggest market. So far, Mr Walliser said the company had avoided having to put prices up because it had pre-emptively sped up shipments to the US before tariffs were imposed. But he warned that strategy was running out of road, as the company's inventories dwindled, and said car makers needed urgent clarity. 'Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining,' he said of the trade deal. 'But it is not operational.' Last week, Sir Keir insisted that the UK-US deal 'delivers for British business and British workers protecting thousands of British jobs in key sectors including car manufacturing and steel'. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Jaguar Land Rover opens door to building cars in America
The boss of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has refused to rule out producing cars in America in an effort to avoid tariffs. Adrian Mardell, JLR's chief executive, said the company had no plans to move production across the Atlantic but could not dismiss the possibility for the future amid lingering questions about how the UK-US trade pact will work in practice. He said: 'We had and currently have no cause to build cars in the US at this time, but we cannot discount that it could be the case at some point.' His remarks will ring alarm bells in Whitehall as officials scramble to hammer out the practical details of the trade agreement announced by Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer last week. Mr Mardell, who sat next to the Prime Minister as he received a phone call from Mr Trump at JLR's head office last week, has welcomed the deal and says it will help to protect jobs. JLR currently makes its best-selling Range Rovers in Solihull, West Midlands, while models such as the Land Rover Discovery and Defender are made in Europe. The company was facing tariffs of up to 27.5pc on cars shipped from the UK and Europe to the US, but the trade deal means that will fall to 10pc for the first 100,000 vehicles exported by manufacturers in the UK. Following the announcement, JLR resumed shipments to the US after pausing them previously. Yet carmakers are still awaiting key details of the pact and JLR's luxury rival Bentley warned on Tuesday that the uncertainty is putting customers off from making purchases. Frank-Steffen Walliser, the chief executive of Bentley, told a Financial Times conference: 'The worst thing that can happen to a running business is the announcement of lower tariff. 'It means all your customers say 'I won't buy a car now', especially our customers, our clients don't need a car at the moment. 'It is super hard on the business at the moment, nobody's moving.' For example, he added, it was not clear how the tariff-free quota of 100,000 cars would apply to different carmakers. 'Is the 100,000 for Bentley? I can live with that,' he said. '[But] I assume our colleagues from JLR would also like to have a chunk.' In the year to the end of March, JLR sold 129,000 cars in North America – representing about one third of its global sales. The company does not break down this figure but the vast majority would have been sold in the US. Bentley, which sells around 4,000 cars per year in the Americas, similarly counts the US as its biggest market. So far, Mr Walliser said the company had avoided having to put prices up because it had pre-emptively sped up shipments to the US before tariffs were imposed. But he warned that strategy was running out of road, as the company's inventories dwindled, and said car makers needed urgent clarity. 'Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining,' he said of the trade deal. 'But it is not operational.' Last week, Sir Keir insisted that the UK-US deal 'delivers for British business and British workers protecting thousands of British jobs in key sectors including car manufacturing and steel'. Sign in to access your portfolio
Scottish Sun
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Thieves stole my £50k Range Rover & drove it to AFRICA – & to make it worse I'd left treasured item inside
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A DRIVER has tracked his car stolen from outside his home — as it was spirited 6,849 miles away to Tanzania. Jimmy Munday, 44, had hidden an Apple AirTag in the £50,000 Range Rover. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 Jimmy Munday tracked his car stolen from outside his home — as it was spirited 6,849 miles away to Tanzania 3 Jimmy was able to track the £50k motor after hiding an Apple AirTag in it Credit: Getty But after it was pinched from his driveway he watched helplessly as it headed off across the globe. His frustration was made worse as he had left his favourite hat on the back seat. It is now in Tanzania where he can see it is driven to and from the same place each day. He said: 'I often wonder who's driving it and if they are also wearing my favourite hat I left in the back seat. Size 9.' Range Rovers and other high-end motors are increasingly being stolen to order for buyers in Kenya, Uganda, Sudan and Tanzania where demand for right-hand drive vehicles is high. Married dad Jimmy's 4x4 was stolen from Chelmsford, Essex, a few months ago and was soon being driven across Europe. Jimmy's tracker showed it was shipped over the Mediterranean and through the Suez Canal. It was then driven across Africa — through Egypt, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda, before arriving in Tanzania. IT consultant Jimmy's pals have teased him about his stolen car — even writing a plot for a screenplay, imagining a hidden stash of illegal pills in the car and gangsters on his trail. One wrote: 'But it's not just the car Jimmy wants back. Inside it? His favourite hat, left resting on the back seat.' Watch moment car thief boy, 9, sneaks into uninsured £135k PORSCHE to go on daring joyride - but it doesn't end well
The Irish Sun
12-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Thieves stole my £50k Range Rover & drove it to AFRICA – & to make it worse I'd left treasured item inside
A DRIVER has tracked his car stolen from outside his home — as it was spirited 6,849 miles away to Tanzania. Jimmy Munday, 44, had hidden an Apple AirTag in the £50,000 Range Rover. 3 Jimmy Munday tracked his car stolen from outside his home — as it was spirited 6,849 miles away to Tanzania 3 Jimmy was able to track the £50k motor after hiding an Apple AirTag in it Credit: Getty But after it was pinched from his driveway he watched helplessly as it headed off across the globe. His frustration was made worse as he had left his favourite hat on the back seat. It is now in Tanzania where he can see it is driven to and from the same place each day. He said: 'I often wonder who's driving it and if they are also wearing my favourite hat I left in the back seat. Size 9.' Range Rovers and other high-end motors are increasingly being stolen to order for buyers in Kenya, READ MORE MOTORS NEWS Married dad Jimmy's 4x4 was stolen from Chelmsford, Essex, a few months ago and was soon being driven across Europe. Jimmy's tracker showed it was shipped over the Mediterranean and through the Suez Canal. It was then driven across Africa — through IT consultant Jimmy's pals have teased him about his stolen car — even writing a plot for a screenplay, imagining a hidden stash of illegal pills in the car and gangsters on his trail. Most read in Motors One wrote: 'But it's not just the car Jimmy wants back. Inside it? His favourite hat, left resting on the back seat.' Watch moment car thief boy, 9, sneaks into uninsured £135k PORSCHE to go on daring joyride - but it doesn't end well 3 The car was tracked going through the Suez Canal before ending up in Tanzania Credit: Reuters
