JLR worldwide sales fall 18.4pc

It sold 92,710 cars – 20,859 fewer than in the same three-month period last year.

Jaguar sales were down 29.6 per cent to 19,248 and Land Rover fell 14.8 per cent to 73,462. In the Uk overall sales were down 47.6 per cent.

JLR, which has is engine manufacturing centre at the i54 north of Wolverhampton, said sales continued to be constrained by the impact of the global semiconductor shortage on production.

Underlying demand for JLR's cars remains strong with order books at record levels of more than 125,000 vehicles.

Sales were lower year-on year in most regions, including North America (down 15.6 per cent), China ( down 6.3 per cent), Europe (down 17 per cent).

All models were lower year-on-year with the exception of the new Land Rover Defender. The 16,725 vehicles sold were up 70.4 per cent year-on-year, making it JLR's best selling model in the quarter.

Chief commercial officer Lennard Hoornik said; "The global semiconductor supply issue represents a significant near-term challenge for the industry which will take time to work through. However, it’s encouraging we were still able to grow sales of the Land Rover Defender in the second quarter. Moreover, we are delighted to have a record company order book demonstrating the underlying demand for our products which we will satisfy when the semiconductor supply recovers."

At the start of November, JLR expects to report unaudited results for the three months to September 30. At the end of the period, the Company had about £3.8 billion of cash and short-term investments.

Despite the continuing semiconductor supply constraints, JLR expects to report a free cash outflow of under £7000 million for the quarter, significantly better than the £1 billion outflow initially anticipated.

The company expects semiconductor shortages to gradually ease over about the next 12 months.