8:48 am, November 28, 2025
UK car production was down again last month as the impact of the JLR cyber attack continued to be felt across the industry.
New figures from the SMMT show that 59,010 cars rolled off of British production lines in the tenth month of the year.
That number represents a decline of 23.8% when compared to the same month last year, with 18,474 fewer cars being built overall.
Experts say the slump is largely a result of JLR’s phased restart of operations after a cyber incident forced a five week pause in production.
Numbers were down across the board with production for the UK market falling by 10.6% to 13,785 units and output for export declining 27.1% to 45,225.
Of the UK’s biggest export markets, shipments to the EU, US and Japan all fell, while those to Türkiye and China rose.
There was also a major drop off in commercial vehicle production which fell by 74.9% to 3,106 units – a seventh consecutive month of decline.
Overall, combined car and van production was down by 30.9% in October with 62,116 units leaving factories.
Despite the seemingly rough month, there was a glimmer of positivity with electrified volumes up up 10.4% to 27,287 units. The SMMT also found that almost half of the cars (46.2%) made in October were either battery electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid.
The news comes two days after the Budget, which has received a mixed response from the industry.
Reflecting on the current state of the market, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: ‘Another difficult month for UK vehicle production as the impact of the earlier cyber attack continued to be felt.
‘Growth is on the horizon, however, and Government has recognised the automotive industry as a pillar of national strategic importance, backing it with an industrial strategy and additional £1.5bn to drive manufacturing competitiveness.
‘Investment competitiveness also depends on a healthy domestic market, however, notably for EVs, and introducing a new electric Vehicle Excise Duty is the wrong measure at the wrong time.
‘This new tax will undermine demand, so government must work with industry to reduce the cost of compliance and protect the UK’s investment appeal.’
In the year-to-date, UK car and van manufacturers have turned out a total of 644,366 units, representing a 17% fall on the same period in 2024.
However, the latest independent production outlook expects growth to return in 2026 with a total of 828,000 cars and vans anticipated to be made next year, driven by new electric car models coming into production.
