8:22 am, October 24, 2024
UK car manufacturing fell by over 20% in September reports the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), as the trade body renews calls for more incentives on sales of new electric vehicles.
The number of vehicles to roll out of UK factories dropped 20.6% last month to 70,039 units for the domestic market, data from the SMMT confirm. For export markets, the figure was 20.8%.
The figures are part of a wider slump in UK manufacturing as a whole, with the monthly S&P Global UK manufacturing PMI survey, published earlier in October, showing that the manufacturing sector grew at a slower pace last month amid a drop in business optimism.
However, while the car manufacturing data showed a decline, the SMMT did say it was predicted.
September 2024’s figures were set against a strong September 2023, which was the best result for the month since 2020.
Moreover, the decrease was expected as factories wind down production of current models and retool lines for EVs.
Some 21,309 electrified models were made in September, representing 30.4% of all cars produced despite an overall volume decline of 37.0% against the same month last year.
Growth is expected to return once new models come on stream, with car and light van production forecast to head back above one million units in 2027 and with the potential to surpass 1.3 million by 2030, said the trade body.
The SMMT also published fresh data showing that the automotive sector remains Britain’s largest exporter of manufactured products, increasing its share of these exports to 13.9% in the first half of 2024.
In the 12 months to June, the sector was worth £114bn in total trade, encompassing £46.8bn in exports and £67.bn in imports.
Alongside the manufacturing data, the SMMT is again calling for consumer incentives on sales of new EVs, which would ‘accelerate market transition and stimulate industrial growth’.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: ‘As UK automotive undergoes its most radical transformation in more than a century, short term production declines were always anticipated, and they represent a temporary adjustment in exchange for long term growth.
‘Following record investment announcements last year, the sector is ready to build on its position as the UK’s largest exporter of manufactured products. To do so, we need the necessary industrial and market conditions, and the forthcoming Budget and Industrial Strategy must put in place ambitious measures to bolster business confidence, attract investment and secure competitiveness.’
