Jaguar Land Rover U.S. shipment halt Automaker halts exports

Jaguar Land Rover U.S. shipment halt — Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has suspended all new vehicle shipments to the U.S. for April as it deals with the impact of President Trump’s newly enforced 25% tariff on foreign-built cars.

“The USA is an important market for JLR’s luxury brands,” the company said in a statement. “We are enacting our short-term actions including a shipment pause in April.”

U.S. Market Key to JLR Sales

The U.S. makes up 25% of JLR’s global vehicle sales, and is the brand’s largest market for high-profit models like the Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, and Land Rover Defender. These three models alone accounted for 67.8% of global JLR sales in the last financial year.

However, unlike Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which have American manufacturing bases in Alabama and South Carolina respectively, JLR lacks a U.S. production facility, leaving it far more vulnerable to tariffs.

Costly Decisions Ahead

JLR once considered building a plant in the U.S. but ultimately chose Slovakia, where its Nitra factory now builds Defender and Discovery models. A new plant in the U.S. could cost over $1 billion and take at least two years to construct—an investment the automaker is reluctant to make amid political instability and ongoing legal uncertainty surrounding the tariffs.

Ripple Effects on British Auto Industry

The Trump tariffs are causing widespread concern for the $120 billion British auto industry. Although foreign companies now own most major UK car brands—Tata owns Jaguar Land Rover, BMW owns Mini and Rolls-Royce, and Volkswagen owns Bentley—British factories still built over 905,000 vehicles last year and exported one in six to the U.S.

If the tariffs remain in place, automakers across the UK may have to rethink their U.S. strategies—fast.

Source: Motor Trend