UK car manufacturing continued to make significant gains in April, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) as 149,334 units were built in the month, a 16.4% increase on April 2015, marking the ninth consecutive month of growth.
Increasing overseas demand for British-built cars was again the driving force behind the growth: production for export jumped 23.7% to 121,732 in April, offsetting a 7.8% decline in cars made for the domestic market.
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April’s figures bolster an already positive 2016 for UK car output, with 588,024 cars built in the first four months of the year – up 10.8% on the equivalent period in 2015.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Britain’s car manufacturing sector continues to thrive with a steady domestic market and surging demand from overseas, including our biggest export destination, Europe. This growth represents a significant endorsement of the strength and quality of the UK automotive industry.”
John Leech, head of automotive for KPMG in the UK, said: “UK car production continued its impressive double digit growth in April due to recent product launches of the critically acclaimed Jaguar F-PACE and XE and Vauxhall Astra. This growth was almost entirely from exports – now over 80% of cars made in the UK are exported. In the early part of this decade a lot of growth came from UK, US, China and Russian markets – now it is largely from the EU. Sales of cars in the EU are expected to keep growing in 2016 and 2017 as there is substantial pent-up demand. I forecast UK car manufacturing to be up 15% in 2016, an 11-year high and on track to beat the all-time record by 2020.”
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