UK car manufacturing output fell by 4.0% in October (compared with October 2018), with 134,752 units rolling off production lines, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
British car production has now fallen in 16 of the last 17 months, with August the ‘outlier’ due to ‘no deal’ Brexit contingency shutdowns earlier in the year artificially boosting output that month.
In October 2019, production for the home market declined by 10.7%, as consumer and business confidence continued to wane; overseas orders were down 2.6% as a result of soft demand in some key markets. Model change-overs also played a part in the downturn.
In the first 10 months of 2019, car production was down 14.4% to 1,123,926 units, with the majority (80.5%) heading abroad to destinations around the world — including the EU, the USA, China and Japan.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive (
www.smmt.co.uk), said: “Yet another month of falling car production makes these extremely worrying times for the sector.
"Our global competitiveness is under threat; to safeguard, it we need to work closely with the next Government to ensure frictionless trade, free of tariffs, with regulatory alignment and continued access to talent in the future.
"This sector is export-led, already shipping cars to more than 160 countries; and in a period of unprecedented change, a close trading relationship with the EU and preferential trading with all these other markets will be essential to keep automotive in Britain.”
That said, UK commercial-vehicle (CV) production was stable in October — down just 0.2%, with 9,065 units manufactured.
Output for crucial overseas markets was up some 9.3%, but production for the domestic market fell by 8.5% in the face of weakening demand.
Production in the first 10 months of 2019 was down 11.5%, reflecting dwindling exports, which were down 16.6%. All told, just over 62,000 new CVs have been made in Britain this year.
UK engine manufacturing fell by 6.2% in October, after a decline in international demand.
Production in the first 10 months of 2019 was down 7.2% compared with 2018.
More than six out of 10 UK-built engines are shipped overseas.