Jaguar Land Rover says chip shortages hampering recovery

Jaguar Land Rover owner Tata Motors has warned that the global shortage of computer chip is starting to hit production.   “Supply chain issues, in particular for semiconductors, have become more difficult to mitigate and are now impacting production plans for Q1. “The company is working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimise the effect on customers,” it said in a statement. Sales rose in its latest quarter rose by 20.5% but a £1.5bn impairment charge meant a heavy loss, pushing the luxury carmaker into the red with its third year running. Underlying profits for the full year rose to £662mln, but the write-downs pushed the group into a loss of £891mln for the year and £952mln for the quarter. Sales over the year to end-March 2021 were £19.7bn with a 20.5% rise in the fourth quarter driven by more than doubled sales in China in the final three months. Volumes over the year dropped by 13.6% but sales of the new Land Rover Defender started to ramp towards the end of the year with 45,200 units sold in the final quarter. Semiconductor shortages have become a worry for car makers across the world, with the JLR already temporarily halting production at two plants  Rival Ford has said the problem might see it halve production this quarter. UK car production was 30,000 down in March due to the lack of chips, the  Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) recently reported.