Tata Motors Ltd on Thursday reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly loss, hit by an ongoing slump in car demand in India as well as plant shutdowns because of Britain’s planned exit from the European Union.

Losses at the homegrown auto major for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, stood at Rs 3,698.34 crore compared with Rs 1,902.37 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Analysts had expected the company to report a loss of around Rs 2,000 crore.

The poor performance was led by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which posted a net loss of £402 million (around Rs 3,457 crore) against £210 million (Rs 1,806 crore) in the same period last year. The pre-tax loss came in at £395 million (Rs 3,397 crore) compared with a £264-million (Rs 2,270 crore) loss in the same period a year ago as quarterly revenues declined 2.8 per cent year-on-year to £5 billion (Rs 43,000 crore) .

Tata Motors said the results were consistent with the outlook for the quarter and largely reflected the weak market conditions. Though EBIT margins fell 180 basis points to 5.5 per cent in the period, JLR expressed confidence that its financial results will improve over the remaining part of the year even as it targets a 3-4 per cent EBIT margin for the full year because of continued investment.

“JLR is in a period of major transformation. We are simplifying our business, delivering on our product strategy and adapting to the tough market environment. We will build on our strong foundations and increased operating efficiency to return to profit this fiscal year. In this period, we expect to see the impact of growing demand for new models such as the Range Rover Evoque, Discovery Sport and Jaguar XE,” JLR CEO Ralf Speth said.

Back home, Tata Motors is grappling with slowing demand that has led to lower sales volumes in segments such as passenger vehicles. Its standalone numbers showed revenue for the quarter falling 19.9 per cent to Rs 13,352 crore from Rs 16,675 crore in the year-ago period.

The loss after tax for the quarter was Rs 97 crore compared with a net profit of Rs 1,188 crore in the year-ago period and Rs 106 crore in the preceding three months.

“The continued slowdown across the auto industry due to weak consumer sentiments, liquidity stress and the impact of axle load effect, particularly in medium/heavy duty, impacted overall demand,” Guenter Butschek, CEO & MD of Tata Motors, said.