Tata Motors' JLR says chip shortages continue to hurt retail sales

NEW DELHI: Tata Motors shares will be in focus on Monday as the company said its subsidiary Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) continues to face chip shortages even as sales improved during the March quarter.

“Jaguar Land Rover retail sales for the three-month period to 31 March 2022 continued to be constrained by the global semiconductor shortage. However, the company saw a gradual improvement in chip supply leading to improved production and wholesale volumes compared to the previous quarter,” said the company in a regulatory filing.

“This is expected to continue through the next fiscal year. Underlying demand for Jaguar Land Rover products remains strong with record orders in the quarter.”

JLR said wholesale volumes were at 76,526 units and production volumes were at 82,722 units in the period (excluding China Joint Venture), up 11 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, year-on-year (YoY).

Retail sales for the quarter ending March were 79,008 vehicles, down 1 per cent YoY. Retails were higher compared to the previous quarter in UK (+34 per cent), North America (+5 per cent) and Overseas(+ 10 per cent) but were lower in China (-18 per cent) and Europe (-17 per cent).

“The successful New Range Rover launch, as well as the momentum gained from Defender, has resulted in a steadily increasing order bank, now at a record 168,000 units. The customer response to the first deliveries of New Range Rover is strong and we remain optimistic for the future, despite the geopolitical and macro-economic challenges facing the industry at present," said Lennard Hoornik, Jaguar Land Rover Chief Commercial Officer, JLR.

Shares of Tata Motors settled at Rs 452.10, up 0.59 per cent.