UK commercial vehicle (CV) production grew again in November, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Factories produced 13,253 vans, buses, trucks, coaches and taxis, up 16.8% on the year before, in the best November performance since 2007 and the ninth month of growth in 2023.
The November total was 51.1% up on 2019’s pre pandemic level with output responding to demand from export markets, up 18.3% to 9,451 units with 71.3% of production shipped abroad.
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The EU again retained its status as the most important overseas market for UK CV exports, taking 96.3% of all vehicles leaving Britain. Orders for UK buyers, meanwhile, also rose, by 13.4% to 3,802 units.
As a result, British CV production year to date was up 15.5% to 111,863 units, the best for the January-November period since 2010, in part due to new production facilities coming on stream and the ability of manufacturers to put supply chain challenges behind them.
Strong demand from overseas markets meant exports were up 21% to 71,679 units while production for domestic buyers had risen by a more modest 6.8% to 40,184 units pushing overall production more than 10,000 units up on full year 2022 with December’s data still to come.
