Jaguar-Land Rover will officially suspend all U.S. shipments on Monday, April 7, 2025, as a result of the Trump Administration’s recent auto tariffs, according to multiple sources. News about the automaker’s decision to halt sending cars to the States broke via Britain’s The Times on Saturday, several days after the tariffs went into effect on April 2, or Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day.”
According to The Times, JLR and its Indian-based parent company, Tata Motors, will cease shipments for a period of one-month in an effort to further assess the increase in costs of doing business as a result of the tariffs. In a follow-up to Reuters, the news publication also received the same email statement, noting similar reasons for JLR’s major decision.
Trump’s Auto Tariffs Claims Its First Major Victim In The States
Although many anticipated Trump’s 25% tariff on all auto imports to affect the entire industry, both domestically and globally, JLR’s importation suspension makes it the first major automaker to fall victim to the taxes in a significant way. Despite Jaguar discontinuing nearly its entire lineup in North America due to slumping sales last year, the duo still exports around 400,000 vehicles annually, with a quarter of those sales being mostly Land Rovers.
According to the reports, JLR’s suspension will last for approximately one month as the company reworks its strategy amid an already bleak financial situation. With Jaguar shrinking its lineup to just selling the F-Pace, along with the dire need to overhaul its lineup from slow-selling and stale products, the tariffs essentially rub salt into the British automaker’s wounds as it struggles to curtail its losses and make a profit.
The automaker’s also been heavily reinvesting in itself to support its costly transition to an all-electric lineup. The company revealed its first new concept from its latest strategy several months ago, the Type 00 Concept, which previews the new EV GT.
“The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands. As we work to address the new trading terms with our business partners, we are taking some short-term actions including a shipment pause in April, as we develop our mid- to longer-term plans,” JLR said to The Times in an official statement.
But it’s not just Americans buying Land Rovers being significantly affected. Jaguar-Land Rover remains one of the UK’s largest employers, consisting of a workforce of about 38,000 individuals. It is also one of the few major mass-produced British automakers still in existence, comprising a major portion of the country’s exports.
The country’s Institute for Public Policy Research, or IPPR, estimates that as many as 25,000 of those 38,000 jobs may be at risk from the damage caused by Trump’s auto tariffs. Outside of the UK, Jaguar-Land Rover also employs around 6,000 people elsewhere globally.
Jaguar-Land Rover didn’t go into further detail as to how the tariffs would further affect operations. But the company did reportedly say it has enough vehicle inventory in the States to last a few months, with much of it being unaffected by the tariffs from already being on U.S. soil.
TopSpeed’s Take
Although the entire auto industry is still figuring out the effects of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on the entire auto industry and the U.S. market, Jaguar-Land Rover is the first major automaker to take major action in response. Other automakers have already anticipated disruptions and negative effects, with many affecting the supply chain, infrastructure, and manufacturing. But with the full effect of the tariffs still being determined, JLR’s suspension only marks the beginning of what has yet to potentially come.
Source: TheTimes – UK via Reuters
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