UK: First half car production shows sharp decline

Total
UK car production in June fell by 15.3 per cent over last year to 132,348 according
to provisional figures released today by the Office of National Statistics. Production
for the home market fell by 9.6 per per cent while output for export was down
18.5 per cent.

Over the first half of the year, car production declined by 18.2 per cent over
last year to stand at a little under 759,000 units. Despite the strength of
production in recent years, there are concerns that the viability of the UK
as a production base for volume car production is in doubt.

Go deeper with GlobalData

• 

  Reports

  The European Car Crash Repair Parts Market 2012 - 2020: Market size...

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

Mark Fulthorpe of CSM Worldwide commented: "These figures are not wholly
unexpected. The Vauxhall Vectra is now on single shift at Luton and Ford Fiesta
is on single shift at Dagenham prior to run-out. The overall comparison with
the first half of last year was bound to show a significant drop. On top of
that, IBC’s Frontera output seems to have been adversely affected by the introduction
of the new GM/Renault van at the plant. And Honda seems to be struggling too,
with the Accord not selling too well in Europe."

SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said, ‘The drop in car production
over the first six months of the year has been disappointing but we need to
guard against long-term pessimism. This is still a very exciting time for manufacturers
and car buyers alike with a host of innovative British-built products like the
Jaguar X-Type, MINI and MG sports’ cars coming on line, after a long period
of restructuring.

He added, ‘We should also remind ourselves that Nissan and Toyota’s UK plants
are the envy of Europe, topping the productivity table, and Honda has just announced
it is to start building vehicles at its second factory in Swindon. This speaks
volumes about the UK’s position as a global centre of car production and the
future looks very bright indeed.’

UK car production

Sign up for our daily news round-up!

Give your business an edge with our leading industry insights.

Sign up