Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) CEO Adrian Mardell expressed his dissatisfaction with the delays at the company’s new parts logistics hub in Leicestershire, which have resulted in thousands of cars in the UK being unable to be repaired.

During a discussion on JLR’s financial performance in the previous quarter, Mardell openly discussed the challenges that have arisen from downsizing JLR’s UK parts supply network from 18 warehouses to one large facility known as Mercia Park in Leicestershire.

According to a report by Car Dealer Magazine, around 10,000 cars in the UK were taken off the road due to delays at Mercia Park, with dealers unable to fit replacement parts. Autocar then revealed that dealers were advised to use second-hand parts in order to address the backlog.

Mardell confirmed to Autocar that the delays have had an adverse impact on after-sales performance, and resolving this issue is a top priority for the company in the coming months.

He explained, “Although this transition was planned, it has taken longer than we anticipated. I want to make it clear that nobody wanted this, and as an organization, we take responsibility for this change, along with our partner.”

Mardell also expressed the company’s apology for the delays.

“To be absolutely clear, we are extremely unhappy about this. Just like the challenges we face with vehicle theft, this issue has the highest priority within our organization and our partner organization, Unipart Logistics,” Mardell emphasized.

Mardell stated that he is in regular communication with Unipart as resolving this issue is of utmost importance to both parties.

He also mentioned that in October, the number of parts waiting to be shipped to dealers decreased for the first time since Mercia Park became operational. Although reports indicated that approximately 10,000 JLR cars were off the road in the UK awaiting parts, Mardell stated that the number has reduced, and the current count is under 5,000.