Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Warns of Weak December Quarter as JLR Struggles After Cyber Attack

Tata Motors PassengerVehicles Ltd. expects a soft December quarter for Jaguar Land Rover as the luxury brand is still recovering from a major cyber attack in September. JLR has restarted most of its production, but the company does not expect to make up for the lost weeks this year, senior executives told reporters on Friday.

JLR remains critical for Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles because the UK business makes up nearly 79% of consolidated revenue. The September cyber incident forced a complete shutdown of its factories. The attack, along with muted demand in key markets and higher US import tariffs, has kept operations under pressure.

Executives said the broader global backdrop is also weighing on sentiment. They cited weak demand in China, the ongoing tariff issue in the US, and tight semiconductor availability. The company is also investigating potential customer data leaks linked to the cyber event.

Despite the disruption, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles said it is on track to begin making JLR cars in Tamil Nadu from January 2026.

Earlier in the day, the company declared its September quarter results. Consolidated net loss from continuing operations stood at ₹63.68 million on revenue of ₹723.49 million. A one-off gain of ₹826.16 million from discontinued operations, driven by the demerger of the commercial vehicle business, lifted overall results.

Domestic demand is showing early signs of improvement. The company sold more than 60,000 cars each in September and October, with Nexon leading volumes. Market share improved, making Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles the second-largest carmaker in both months. Festive demand helped bring inventory down to 27 days as of October 30, and the company aims to reduce this further to 15–20 days by end-December.

The firm does not plan to increase prices in the December quarter after the recent GST cut. Price action may be considered at the start of the final quarter.

Chandra Opposes Special CAFE Leeway for Small Cars
Managing Director Shailesh Chandra said the company does not support special concessions for small cars under upcoming emission norms. He said Tata Motors has not faced any trouble meeting Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency rules.

Chandra said defining small cars purely by weight is arbitrary and warned that pushing lighter cars could compromise safety improvements made in recent years. He said regulation should match consumer preferences rather than be shaped around technical exemptions.

He added that the electric Harrier launched in June continues to see strong demand, with a waiting period of 16–18 weeks. CNG remains relevant for cars under roughly four metres, while diesel is still preferred in larger vehicles for better torque.

Exceptional Gain Explained
Group CFO P.B. Balaji said the exceptional gain recorded in the quarter was notional and does not affect net worth or reserves. He said the commercial vehicle business had a fair value of around ₹940 million, compared with a book value of ₹110 million. The difference of ₹830 million was recorded as the one-time gain.