8:17 am, December 19, 2025
The automotive industry is ‘gradually normalising’ after the JLR cyberattack, despite production figures dropping off again in November.
That is according to the SMMT, which has revealed that 65,932 vehicles rolled off British production lines in the eleventh month of the year.
The figure is 14.3% down on the same period last year, with experts admitting that the five-week shutdown at JLR earlier in the year is still having an impact.
The decline was driven by a slight reduction in car output, which was down by 1.7 to 63,126 units, as well as a massive 78% drop in commercial vehicles, with just 2,806 units produced.
November marked that fourth month in a row that car production was down, with 1,090 fewer units leaving factories than this time last year.
Of all the cars to be built, 14,589 were for UK roads – a year-on-year rise of 46.9% – while production for overseas markets fell by 10.6%
Shipments to the UK’s five biggest markets – the EU, US, Türkiye, China and Japan – all fell, with a total of 48,537 cars produced for global markets.
Elsewhere, truck, bus and coach volumes all declined for the eighth month in a row, largely as a result of the closure of Stellantis’s Luton van plant in March.
Despite the declining numbers, the SMMT says there are plenty of reasons for festive cheer, especially after production of the new Nissan Leaf got underway in Sunderland this week.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘Car production is normalising following August’s cyber incident and, with the manufacture of a new EV model starting this week in Sunderland, the sector can look forward with some optimism.
‘Growth is expected next year, with the industry poised to reap the benefits of recent UK government backing – notably new funding, modernised trade deals and efforts to reduce energy costs.
‘The growth this package seeks to create, however, would be undermined if the UK becomes the main unintended victim of new EU local content requirements.
‘We must instead work on a pragmatic and inclusive approach, one which protects and enhances competitiveness across the European automotive ecosystem.’
