Component Supply Improvements Increase UK Car Production

Friday, 31. March 2023

UK factories made an additional 8,050 cars, with volumes buoyed by an easing of supply chain shortages, according to new figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

UK car production rose 13.1% in February, up to 69,707 units, with production for both home and overseas markets seeing double digit increases, up 20.3% and 11.5% respectively.

SMMT says that exports drove the overall uplift; some 56,634 cars were produced to fulfil global orders, up from 50,786 a year before and accounting for 81.2% of output, with the majority of these exports (59.6%) heading into the UK’s largest trading partner, the EU.

Shipments to the EU rose 6.5%, helping to offset declines to the US (-19.9%) and China (-21.6%). Exports to Turkey, Japan, Australia and South Korea, meanwhile, also rose, collectively by 85%, and together represented a total of 6,498 cars, or 11.5% of exports.

The UK’s automotive industrial transition to hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles continued, with combined volumes surging 72.2% from 15,905 to a total of 27,392 units and accounting for two in five (39.3%) cars produced in the month.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said: “February’s growth in UK car production signposts an industry on the road to recovery.

“The fundamentals of the sector are strong; a highly skilled workforce, engineering excellence, a sector that is embracing new electrified vehicle manufacturing and wide ranging capabilities in the EV supply chain.

“To take advantage of global opportunities, however, we must scale up at pace and make the UK the most attractive destination for automotive investment by addressing trading and fiscal costs and delivering low carbon, affordable energy.”