News

Global production and sales of JLR models have been “severely disrupted” by a cyber attack that the firm is continuing to grapple with for a second day.

Autocar first reported the issues affecting JLR dealer registrations on Monday. The firm confirmed on Tuesday that it has been “shutting down our systems” to mitigate the impact of a "cyber incident" that occurred over the weekend.

JLR added that “at this stage there is no evidence any customer data has been stolen” and “we are now working at pace to restart our global applications in a controlled manner”. 

This shutting down of systems is understood to have led to a halt of production at Solihull, where the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport are built.

Autocar also understood the issues are impacting parts supplies and new car handovers.

JLR however would not confirm this. It was also unable to confirm a timescale for the fix.

Autocar was first made aware of the "cyber incident" on Monday. A JLR dealer confirmed the issue and said the branch had registered no new cars on 'new plate' day (1 September), traditionally one of the year's busiest for new car registrations.

JLR parent company Tata posted a notice to the Indian stock exchange on Monday that referred to the issue as an "IT security incidence" without giving further details. 

JLR's public-facing website appears to be fully operational, including the car configurator.

Audi will reveal a radical new sports car concept inspired by the TT later today - but leaked images have given an early look at what to expect.

New images posted to online forums this morning provide a more complete look at the sleek, low-slung sports coupé, revealing a new grille treatment similar to that on the C6-generation A6.

This is flanked by a pair of narrow headlights and large intakes, which likely channel air to the car's front brakes – hinting at the car's performance-focused billing.

Inside, it gets a new-look steering wheel with rotary dial controls and buttons, as well as metal-finished doorhandles that appear to draw on the Bauhaus movement that influenced the original TT.

The concept has obvious mid-engined-style proportions and a two-seat cabin. 

An official disclaimer posted to Audi's Canadian social media feeds – before being quickly taken down – stated the car shown is a concept vehicle that is "not available as a production vehicle". However, the design looks far more production-ready than some recent outlandish concepts, so there is potential for a road-going version.

Indeed, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner has previously said the company would not "show studies any more", suggesting it plans to launch a production version of every show car it unveils from now on.

More details will be given this evening, when Audi officially unwraps the new concept - as confirmed on social media by its designer Massimo Frascella, under the tagline 'strive for clarity' - which hints that the concept will set the tone for a new minimalist design language that could be rolled out across Audi's line-up under Frascella's stewardship. 

As previously reported by Autocar, the concept will preview an all-new look for the German manufacturer.

Döllner previously said that the design would be “a bold step for the brand” and that it would “would look to the future and the strengths of Audi design, for clarity and to bring that to the future, not copying the past”.

This is a sentiment that has been echoed in a new video posted to Audi’s social media channels.

The clip states “the legends of yesterday are the blueprint for tomorrow” with the strapline “strive for clarity” while showing images of the TT, the 1991 Avus concept and several Auto Union grand prix cars from the 1930s.

“The absolutely fantastic aspect is that it seems that he [Frascella] somehow had Audi in his mind for his whole career," said Döllner. "Now is the time to let Audi out of the mind of Massimo Frascella."

BMW has provided an update on its plans to begin sales of a hydrogen-powered version of the X5, as it readies production of a third-generation fuel cell system developed in partnership with Toyota.

Due out in 2028, the new FCEV model will be sold alongside petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and fully electric versions of the BMW SUV, which will enter its fifth generation next year, forming part of the company’s widest and most electrified drivetrain strategy yet.

Building on the technical basis of the existing iX5 Hydrogen, which has been deployed exclusively on BMW’s internal fleet as a test and development vehicle since 2023, the new model has been conceived as the brand’s first hydrogen-powered car for commercial sale. Sales will be limited to selected global markets with suitable refuelling infrastructure.

“The launch of the first-ever fuel cell production model will add another efficient drive system to our product portfolio,” said Joachim Post, board member for development.

BMW says its third-generation hydrogen fuel cell system marks a major engineering advance. Compared with the iX5 Hydrogen, the new system is around 25% smaller, yet offers greater power density and improved integration into a variety of platforms, including the X5’s Cluster Architecture (CLAR).

Post confirmed the new system is intended for use across future hydrogen models, with “improved range, higher output and significantly greater efficiency”.

Production of the X5 Hydrogen’s new fuel cell stack will take place at the BMW Group’s plant in Steyr, Austria, where new production lines and testing facilities are currently being installed.

Additional components, including a new hydrogen-specific high-voltage control unit known as the BMW Energy Master, will be manufactured at the company’s Landshut facility in Germany. Initial prototypes are due to be built at BMW’s Dingolfing plant, Autocar has been told.

The iX5 Hydrogen pilot model used a second-generation system built around Toyota-supplied fuel cells but with BMW-developed integration. It combined a 187bhp fuel cell stack with a 295bhp electric motor and buffer battery system, giving total system output of 396bhp and a WLTP range of around 313 miles from two 700-bar hydrogen tanks holding 6kg of hydrogen.

BMW says the new third-generation system will surpass this in all key areas with a modular layout designed to scale up across a wider variety of vehicle types in the future.

Visually, the upcoming G65-generation X5 is also set to break new ground. Recent prototypes confirm it adopts key styling elements from the upcoming second-generation iX3 - BMW's first Neue Klasse platform-based model due for UK sale in 2026.

Inside, BMW will swap traditional instrument clusters for a panoramic projected display system and a widescreen central interface measuring 17.9in. The long-running iDrive rotary controller is also set to be dropped, with future models relying fully on voice and touch inputs.

Audi will reveal a radical new sports car concept inspired by the TT later today - but a leaked image has given an early look at what to expect.

Posted to Audi's Canadian social media feeds and quickly taken down, the image shows a side profile of a sleek, low-slung sports coupé that is unmistakably influenced by the seminal TT.

It's unclear what type of powertrain it uses, but the concept has obvious mid-engined-style proportions and a two-seat cabin. 

An official disclaimer says the car shown is a concept vehicle that is "not available as a production vehicle", but the design looks far more production ready than some recent outlandish concepts, so there is potential for a production version.

Indeed, Audi CEO Gernot Döllner has previously said the company would not "show studies any more", suggesting it plans to launch a production version of every show car it unveils from now on.

More details will be given tomorrow evening, when Audi officially unwraps the new concept - as confirmed on social media by its designer Massimo Frascella, under the tagline 'strive for clarity' - which hints that the concept will set the tone for a new minimalist design language that could be rolled out across Audi's line-up under Frascella's stewardship. 

As previously reported by Autocar, the concept will preview an all-new look for the German manufacturer.

Döllner previously said that the design would be “a bold step for the brand” and that it would “would look to the future and the strengths of Audi design, for clarity and to bring that to the future, not copying the past”.

This is a sentiment that has been echoed in a new video posted to Audi’s social media channels.

The clip states “the legends of yesterday are the blueprint for tomorrow” with the strapline “strive for clarity” while showing images of the TT, the 1991 Avus concept and several Auto Union grand prix cars from the 1930s.

“The absolutely fantastic aspect is that it seems that he [Frascella] somehow had Audi in his mind for his whole career," said Döllner. "Now is the time to let Audi out of the mind of Massimo Frascella."