The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has reported a “robust first half of 2014 for UK car manufacturing with volumes up 3.5% to 791,314 units”.
June output rose 3.7% to 136,419 cars, driven by 16.5% growth in production for the home market.
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“UK car production continued its steady growth in June, leading to a first half-year increase of 3.5%,” said CEO Mike Hawes. “With several manufacturers having started assembly of new models this year and billions of pounds of investment still to reach production fruition, this is an exciting time for the UK automotive sector.
“However, with this growth comes a need to bolster the domestic supply chain and address major skills shortages; both of which the UK industry is committed to addressing.”
John Leech, KPMG’s UK head of automotive, said: “This has been a credible first half of the year for UK car production. A lot of important new models were launched such as the Nissan Qashqai, BMW Mini and Range Rover Sport and I expect a strengthening trend into the second half of 2014.
“With the Jaguar XE and the new Vauxhall Astra due to be launched early next year, we are on the threshold of a golden era of British car manufacturing.
“We have firmed up our forecast for UK vehicle production and are now confident of seeing the 2m vehicle barrier broken in 2017. This is exerting a powerful pull for supply chain companies as they re-evaluate the UK as a manufacturing location within their European production footprints.”
| Car manufacturing | Jun-13 | Jun-14 | % Change | YTD-13 | YTD-14 | % Change |
| Total | 131,586 | 136,419 | 3.7% | 764,390 | 791,314 | 3.5% |
| Home | 26,212 | 30,532 | 16.5% | 162,754 | 165,855 | 1.9% |
| Export | 105,374 | 105,887 | 0.5% | 601,636 | 625,459 | 4.0% |
| % export | 80.1% | 77.6% | 78.7% | 79.0% |
