UK car production DOWN 27% for the worst January numbers in more than a decade

Car production in the UK fell by 27.3 per cent in January to the lowest output since 2009 as a combination of Covid and Brexit hit output.

We’ve got used to car production in the UK, although not just the UK, falling off a cliff in the midst of the Covid epidemic, with the nadir coming in April 2020 when it fell by 97.7 per cent.

Things have improved somewhat since then as car makers adapt to the strange world we now live in, but numbers are still down, and in January 2021 they were down by 27.3 per cent on the year before.

Figures from the SMMT reveal just 86,052 vehicles were produced in January – down by 32,262 on last year – for the lowest January figures since 2009, but it wasn’t just Covid problems to blame, with post-Brexit complications hitting exports more than domestic; new car exports fell by 29.1 per cent – mainly to the EU, US and Asia – and domestic production by 18.3 per cent.

Unsurprisingly, as car makers rush to electrify their cars, production of EVs, PHEVs and Hybrids actually grew, by 18.9 per cent, and accounted for over a quarter of total production.

SMMT boss, Mike Hawes, said:

Yet another month of decline for UK car production is a grave concern, and next week’s budget is the chancellor’s opportunity to boost the industry by introducing measures that will support competitiveness, jobs and livelihoods.

Most immediately, however, we must get our Covid-secure car showrooms back open, ideally before 12 April. This will be the fastest way to UK automotive manufacturing recovery.