UK's October car output falls 24% as impact from JLR cyberattack lingers

Nov 28 (Reuters) - Britain's car production fell 23.8% to 59,010 units in October as the sector continued to feel the impact of an unprecedented cyberattack at Jaguar Land Rover, the country's largest automaker, industry data showed on Friday.

The British luxury carmaker, owned by Tata Motors, resumed production in early October, after shutting down systems to contain the incident, which halted output at its UK plants for six weeks and cost it 196 million pounds ($259 million).

Overall, UK vehicle production, including commercial vehicles, fell 30.9% to 62,116 units in October, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said.

Production of electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid vehicles, however, rose 10.4% to 27,287 units, accounting for nearly half of all cars produced in October, SMMT said, with the government's green targets and deep discounts in the face of Chinese competition boosting the appetite for EVs.

"Growth is on the horizon," SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes said in a statement, noting government support including another 1.5 billion pounds in new automotive funding.

But the industry body warned that new EV tax measures could undermine this momentum just as manufacturers prepare to launch new electric models to meet government mandates.

Finance minister Rachel Reeves' budget on Wednesday introduced a pay-per-mile tax on electric vehicles from April 2028 to offset some of the fuel duty revenue that will be lost as drivers switch to cleaner cars.

The electric vehicle tax is expected to raise about 1.1 billion pounds in its first year but would undermine demand, Hawes said.

"So government must work with industry to reduce the cost of compliance and protect the UK's investment appeal," he said.

Overall vehicle production fell 17% year-to-date, but the SMMT forecasts a return to growth in 2026 with 828,000 cars and vans expected to be produced as new electric models are made.

($1 = 0.7557 pounds) (Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Joe Bavier)