Tianjin Port blasts likely to have affected 5,800 JLR cars

Premium carmaker Jaguar Land Rover has said that nearly 5,800 cars shipped by the company may have been affected in the recent explosions at the Chinese port town of Tianjin.

“At the time of the explosion, approximately 5,800 vehicles that had recently been shipped to China were stored at various locations in Tianjin.  However, access to facilities near the site of the explosion remains restricted and so whilst we believe many of these vehicles may have been damaged, we are presently unable to quantify the numbers of units affected,” said a company release.

Tianjin Port is one of three major locations in China through which Jaguar Land Rover imports vehicles.

On August 12, the port town was rocked by powerful explosions at a warehouse which stocked hazardous and flammable chemicals, including calcium carbide, sodium cyanide, potassium nitrate, ammonium nitrate and sodium nitrate. The blast and the fire afterwards killed more than a hundred people; left hundreds more injured and devastated large areas of the city. 

“We will continue to monitor the situation and work to minimise the impact on our customers and the business,” said JLR.

Apart from JLR, many other automakers have suffered huge losses because of the explosions in Tianjin.

Toyota and John Deere have suspended their manufacturing operations temporarily after the blasts and Renault also said its car deliveries in China may fall in August and September after the blast burned 1,500 of its imported cars. Meanwhile, German carmaker Volkswagen said 2,700 of its cars were damaged.