Jaguar Land Rover returned to profit after improved availability of semiconductors boosted output of high-end models such as the new Range Rover.
The British luxury automaker reported profit before tax of 265 million pounds ($326 million) for the three months ending in December, compared with a 9 million pound shortfall a year earlier, JLR said Wednesday in a statement.
The gains were due to sales of the new Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models almost doubling, as well as positive currency effects.
“JLR has returned to profit as chip shortages eased in the quarter and production and wholesales increased,” Adrian Mardell, JLR’s interim CEO, said in the statement.
The manufacturer has been badly hit by the protracted shortages of semiconductors that have crippled the entire industry.
Earlier this month, JLR said it might miss a target of becoming net-debt free by next year as the supply-chain crisis crimped output. The struggles come before a backdrop of record vehicle orders of 215,000, JLR said.
JLR is also facing the challenge of executing its EV strategy amid management upheaval. Thierry Bollore, who led the company for less than two years, announced his departure in November, with Mardell taking over in the interim.
On Wednesday, JLR said its Solihull plant in the UK will start making full-electric Jaguar models from 2025 alongside Range Rover models “heralding an exciting new era of electric carmaking in the UK.”
The nation’s automaking industry has made only limited headway in the EV transition with battery-building hopeful Britishvolt filing for insolvency this month the latest blow.
During the third quarter, the Jaguar nameplate sold just 14,500 cars.
