Jaguar Land Rover has reported annual losses of £3.6bn ($A6.2 billion) for the final three months of 2018, blaming low sales in China as a primary cause.
Sales actually rose in the UK and North America, but falling demand in China and Europe contributed to an overall fall of 5.8% in vehicle sales.
The company also incurred significant redundancy costs with 4,500 job losses in the last three months of the year.
Chief executive Dr Ralf Speth 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.’
Financial analysts conclude the recognition that previous investment in diesel engines, which have underpinned Jaguar Land Rover sales in many key markets, will not be recouped due to a rapid decline in global diesel sales, most notably in Europe.
JLR is the subject of takeover speculation, with PSA rumoured to be in talks with JLR owner Tata.