Currently reading: Chip shortage stops Land Rover Defender production in Nitra

Defender and Discovery production paused in Slovakia due to semiconductor supply crisis

Land Rover has paused production in Nitra, Slovakia, as a result of the ongoing semiconductor shortage that has blighted the global car industry.

The factory, which produces the firm's Land Rover big-selling Defender and seven-seat Land Rover Discovery, is the latest Jaguar Land Rover plant to be impacted by the semiconductor (or chip) shortage.

In April, JLR halted the production lines at its Castle Bromwich and Halewood sites in the UK, bringing production of the Jaguar XE, XF and F-Type to a halt, as well as the Land Rover Discovery Sport and Range Rover Evoque. 

At that time, the brand kept its Nitra and Solihull plants in operation, but now, The Times reports, it has been forced to pause Defender and Discovery output.

A JLR spokesman told Autocar: "Like other automotive manufacturers, we're currently experiencing some Covid-19 supply chain disruption, including the global availability of semiconductors, which is having an impact on our production schedules. As a result, we are adjusting production schedules in some of our plants to reflect this.

"We continue to see strong customer demand for our range of vehicles. We're working closely with affected suppliers to resolve the issues and minimise the impact on customer orders wherever possible."

There has been no official timeframe given for the reopening of the Slovakian site, which has a capacity of 150,000 units annually - more than a fifth of JLR's output in 2019, before the pandemic struck.

Wait times for the Defender were already estimated to be in the region of a year before the closure and are likely to increase as a result. 

Earlier this year, JLR CEO Thierry Bolloré told investors that the company's efforts to order its own electrical components direct from the source had shielded it from the worst of the shortage. It's unclear whether this supply model has remained in place until now.

READ MORE

Land Rover Defender: The story behind the 4x4's production​

Inside the industry: Why the semiconductor shortage hits hard​

Analysis: Chips are down for car makers as shortage continues​

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Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: Deputy editor

Felix is Autocar's deputy editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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xxxx 29 June 2021

Humour failure, say something funny and I might laugh!

sbagnall 29 June 2021
BREAKING NEWS!

4X suffers an extreme case of humour failure.

Upon reading what was a light-hearted post about the semiconductor crisis gripping the motor industry and the continuing woes of the beleaguered British manufacturer, Land Rover, they felt the need to post an idiotic response.

Another regular poster, who wished to remain anonymous said, "it's what they do, you simply can't have any fun, it seems they must respond to anything and everything where someone pokes a bit of fun at a manufacturer, individual or subject. They're just a bit weird."

xxxx 29 June 2021

NEWS UPDATE

Applies to just about car company, still why let facts get in the way of gossip and trolling