2019 British car manufacturing output declined 10.6% in July, with 108,239 units produced, according to figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). According to the association, this is the fourteenth successive month of decline, due to weakness in major EU and Asian markets coupled with some key model changes affected performance.
Production for export fell 14.6% in the month, although overseas demand accounted for eight in ten cars built. However, output for the domestic market rose by 10.2%, or 2,000 units, following a steep 35.1% fall in July in 2018.
In the year-to-date, some 774,760 cars have been made in Britain, 180,864 fewer than in the same timeframe last year and representing a fall of 18.9%, the SMMT said, with exports primarily responsible for this fall in output with overseas shipments down 20.2% since January, while year-on-year production for the UK is down 13.5%.
‘The sector is overwhelmingly reliant on exports and the global headwinds are strong, with escalating trade tensions, softening demand and significant technological change,’ said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. With the UK market also weak, the importance of maintaining the UK’s global competitiveness has never been more important so we need a Brexit deal – and quickly – to unlock investment and safeguard the long-term future of a sector which has recently been such an international success story.’
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.
