The Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) says that 147,471 cars were manufactured UK production lines in March 2018, a decrease of 13.3% on same month in 2017.
Demand reportedly fell 17.7% and exports also declined 11.9% due to fluctuations in demand in some global markets. In addition, some manufacturers were impacted by adverse March weather conditions which negatively affected production operations.
Overall output in Q1 2018 fell -6.3%, with 440,426 cars manufactured in total this year. Almost 80% of these were exported, and while demand from overseas customers fell 4% in Q1, this was dwarfed by the 14.1% decline in manufacturing for the UK market, the SMMT said.
‘A double-digit decline in car manufacturing for both home and overseas markets is of considerable concern,’ said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. ‘Following recent announcements on jobs cutbacks in the sector, it’s vitally important that the industry and consumers receive greater certainty, both about future policies towards diesel and other low emission technologies, and our post-Brexit trading relationships and customs arrangements.’
This story uses material from the SMMT,with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
