Up to 5,800 of the cars destroyed in the recent Tianjin explosions were built in Britain by Jaguar Land Rover, the company said in a statement Friday.
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Shares in Tata Motors extended losses to more than 4 percent after the statement, and ended almost 3 percent lower in a weak Mumbai market.
Prior to the explosion, about 5,800 vehicles had been shipped to the port by the manufacturer and were stored at various locations in Tianjin. The explosion is expected to affect China’s auto industry amidst slow economic growth and the recent stock market crash. Authorities say nearly 700 people remain in hospital while 30,000 more are thought to have been affected by the disaster.
Tianjin is one of three major ports in China through which JLR imports vehicles.
Jaguar Land Rover expressed condolences to the families and friends of those who lost loved ones in the explosions in Tianjin.
JLR would appear to have been the worst hit by the blast after Chinese state media reported that 8,000 cars worth about £400 million were destroyed. Its cars will have been a mix of Jaguars and Land Rovers made in the UK at Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood.
An investigation has been launched in the Far East into what caused the two huge explosions at the warehouse storing volatile chemicals at a busy port in northeast China.
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Xinhua said one of the “ignition points” came from within an automobile distribution area near the blast site and the other three were within the central blast area.
