Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Jaguar Land Rover reports record $4.6 billion loss
The Land Rover Discovery is pictured at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show. Reuters
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
Jaguar Land Rover has reported a record annual loss of 3.6 billion pounds ($4.58 billion) for last year.
Britain's largest carmaker, owned by India's Tata Motors, blamed the staggering loss on a slump in the Chinese market, falling diesel sales and uncertainties related to Brexit.
The company returned to profit in the fourth quarter of its latest financial year (120 million pounds), but its massive loss overshadowed the improvement.
Jaguar Land Rover CEO Ralf Speth
he is optimistic about the future, saying the company is “taking concerted action to reduce complexity” and transforming into a “leaner and fitter” one that will drive future demand.
“Jaguar Land Rover has been one of the first companies in its sector to address the multiple headwinds simultaneously sweeping the automotive industry,” he said. “Jaguar Land Rover is focused on the future as we overcome the structural and cyclical issues that impacted our results in the past financial year.
“We will go forward as a transformed company that is leaner and fitter, building on the sustained investment of recent years in new products and the autonomous, connected, electric and shared technologies that will drive future demand.”
Jaguar Land Rover is one of the fastest-growing imported car brands in Korea. Its sales here reached 1.02 trillion won ($840 million) in 2017.