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Summary
- The UK car production dropped by 18.2 per cent in October mainly due to coronavirus cases and the frequent lockdowns
- Only about 110,179 cars were manufactured in factories across Britain in October
- The decline in October’s car production can be attributed to the falling exports, especially to the US and EU markets
The car production in the UK has fallen by 18.2 per cent in October as the coronavirus spread, and the frequent lockdowns continue to impact the market. According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), around 110,179 cars were manufactured last month, which is at least 24,490 less than the number of cars produced in October 2019. The number of vehicles manufactured for the US market dropped by 26 per cent, while the vehicles rolled off from the European market dropped by 25.7 per cent.
The decline in production can be attributed to the falling exports, especially to the US and European Union markets, down by 19.1 per cent overall and that equals the loss of 21,569 vehicles. On the other hand, the number of cars manufactured for Japan increased by 57.1 per cent, and for China, it rose by 9.7 per cent. Experts feel there has been an uptick in the production as these markets didn’t see severe lockdown measures in recent times.
In the meantime, the cars built for the UK domestic market fell by 13.6 per cent. A total of 18,629 cars were manufactured in Britain in October, which is 2,921 less than the number in October 2019. In total, from January to October, the car production in Britain is down by 33.8 per cent, which is a fall of 379,308 units. In all, the UK has produced almost three-quarters of a million new cars so far.
Mike Hawes, the chief executive officer at SMMT, said the numbers suggest a gloomy outlook for the UK’s car manufacturing industry which has been hit by the Covid-19 outbreak and Brexit. Also, the industry is facing another challenge of shifting to electric vehicles within a decade.
Though the industry has displayed resilience during the current times, the auto sector can flourish in a competitive market only if the conditions are feasible. Investing in the green industrial revolution appears to be promising for the industry; however, it should be done at a global competitive stage, Hawes added.
He further added that the UK government must have a Brexit deal as it will enable the industry to trade smoothly with no tariffs, zero quotas and no stringent regulatory rules.
Also read: UK Car Industry to Suffer with The Economic Fallout of Lockdown 2.0
Meanwhile, the SMMT report highlighted that the UK car production could tumble below 1 million cars a year if the government goes ahead without a trade deal with the European Union.
The British automotive industry could lose a whopping £55 billion in manufacturing value over the next five years if a favourable Brexit deal is not made. Car production in Britain had declined by 5 per cent in September as compared with the same month in 2019. That was the worst production number since 1995.
