Jaguar Land Rover to idle British plant on drop in China sales and import tariffs

Jaguar Land Rover announced that it will close its Solihull plant in Britain for two weeks this month. The decision was driven by 50 per cent decline in China sales as import duties on steel and aluminium and a trade war with the United States curb demand.

China's automobile sales have been falling in recent months with the slowing economy.  Trade war with the U.S. is also making consumers cautious about spending.

"As part of the company's continued strategy for profitable growth, Jaguar Land Rover is focused on achieving operational efficiencies and will align supply to reflect fluctuating demand globally as required," a spokesman said in a statement.

U.K. plant will be closed for two weeks beginning Oct. 22. The Unite Union said no jobs would be lost as hours would be banked. JLR built one in three of Britain's 1.67 million light vehicles in 2017. The company also announced that its factories in Castle Bromwich will shift to a three-day work week from October until the beginning of December.

The automakers’ sales are also affected by tighter emissions rules and higher environment taxes in some countries as 45 per cent of its sales are of diesel models. It is also concerned about the impact of any Brexit-related loss of free and unfettered trade with the European Union.