Jaguar Land Rover has recommended dealers use second-hand parts for vehicle repairs. The manufacturer currently has a backlog of 5,000 vehicles sitting at the dealership across the United Kingdom waiting to be fixed, Autocar reports. The supply chain issues stem from the delays at a new central warehouse because the backlog was formerly 10,000 cars — and a fix isn't coming until 2024.
The British automaker has downsized its entire supply network in Britain to a single massive facility called Mercia Park. JLR has almost been a victim of its own success. The company sales volume is up 30 percent over the first half of the financial year. The parts are being funneled directly to the production of new vehicles, exacerbating the impact of the part shortage on existing vehicles needing repair. JLR CEO Adrian Mardell explained to Autocar:
Mardell confirmed to Autocar that “the level of performance in after-sales has been adversely impacted” by the hold-ups, and said coming to a resolution is a prevailing priority for the firm over the coming months.
“It was a planned transition but the transition is taking longer than we would originally have planned,” he said, “and, just to be clear, that’s something that nobody wished for, and that’s something that, as an organization with our partner we’re working with here, we obviously have responsibility for the change.”
He added that the delays are something “we do need to apologize for, as well.”
“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 organization, and right at the top of our partner organization [Unipart Logistics] as well.”
While the use of second-hand parts is only a temporary stop-gap measure, Jaguar and Land Rover owners want to be assured of the quality of repairs being made if their vehicles have an issue. JLR, for its part, has stated that this is a long-established practice and stated in the warranty agreement.