Jaguar Land Rover Assesses Damage to Vehicles Caught in Blasts at China Port

Tata, which bought the luxury UK carmaker in 2008, said it has yet to determine the exact extent of the damage, joining other global carmakers such as Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor, Toyota Motor Corp, Daimler and BMW Group that are still counting up their losses.

The Jaguar Land Rover vehicles had recently been shipped to China and were stored at various locations in Tianjin port, Tata said in a statement to the Indian stock exchange.

"Whilst we believe many of these vehicles may have been damaged, we are presently unable to quantify the numbers of units affected," a JLR spokesman said in the statement, explaining that access was still restricted to areas near the site of the explosion.

The number of cars damaged at China's largest auto import hub could climb to above 10,000 when accounting for all vehicles in the area. This will affect deliveries at a time when China's auto market has been shrinking due to slowing economic growth and the recent stock market slump.