Most cars destroyed in Tianjin blasts come from JLR plants in Britain: report

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.

The vehicles came from JLR assembly plants in the West Midlands and Liverpool and had recently arrived in Tianjin after being shipped from Britain.

The Birmingham Post newspaper reported Friday that shares in Indian parent group Tata Motors fell by up to 4 percent on the Mumbai stock exchange today after the company confirmed the impact on around 5,800 of its vehicles recently shipped to China.

In its statement issued Friday afternoon the company said: "Jaguar Land Rover wishes to express its most profound condolences to the families and friends of those who lost loved ones in the explosions in 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," the statement added.

The Birmingham Post said Jaguar Land Rover appears to have been the worst hit by the blast after Xinhua reported that 8,000 cars worth around 630 million U.S. dollars were destroyed. China has become one of JLR's biggest markets for its British built models. Endit