UK Jaguar Land Rover dealers told to use second-hand parts to fix cars – report

Jaguar Land Rover dealers in the UK have reportedly been told by the British car-maker to use second-hand parts to fix vehicles in need of repair, due to lengthy delays for new components after it massively downsized its supply network.

According to UK magazine Autocar, Jaguar Land Rover – now known simply as JLR – downsized its UK parts supply network at the start of August from 18 warehouses across the country to one large centre known as Mercia Park, operated by Unipart Logistics.

However, the facility has been unable to fulfil parts requests, which fellow UK publication Car Dealer Magazine reports led to approximately 10,000 vehicles being left off the road in Britain while awaiting replacement parts.

A subsequent investigation by Autocar found JLR has advised certain UK dealers to use second-hand or non-genuine parts to clear the backlog of vehicles awaiting repair.

Not only could this create a safety risk of using parts which may be worn, but owners of the brand’s cars have also perceived the decision as robbing them of the quality they pay for.

Speaking to Autocar, recently-appointed JLR CEO Adrian Mardell said the car-maker is unhappy about the parts situation and is working to rectify the delays, while claiming the current number of the brand’s vehicles awaiting repairs has halved to 5000.

“To be very, very clear, this is something we are really unhappy about, and just like the challenges with vehicles being stolen, this is something right at the top of this organisation, and right at the top of our partner organisation [Unipart Logistics] as well,” Mr Mardell told Autocar.

“It was a planned transition [from 18 parts warehouses to one] but the transition is taking longer than we would originally have planned.

“Just to be clear, that’s something that nobody wished for, and that’s something that, as an organisation with our partner we’re working with here, we obviously have responsibility for the change.”

According to Autocar, JLR’s UK dealership network has now run out of courtesy cars to lend customers while their vehicles are being repaired.

In Australia, no such parts delays or claims of second-hand and non-genuine parts have been reported by Jaguar Land Rover customers or dealers.

The two brands are currently experiencing different results in Australian showrooms, with Land Rover reporting 7021 sales between January and October 2023 – up almost 79 per cent on the same period last year – while Jaguar’s sales continue to slide, with 436 vehicles reported as sold year-to-date (down 34 per cent).

In 2019 – the last full year before the global COVID-19 pandemic – Land Rover sold 8879 vehicles in Australia, while Jaguar sales reached 2274 examples.