UK Car Production at lowest level in January 2022 for 13 years

New car production in the UK in January 2022 was at the lowest level since 2009 as the ‘Chip’ shortage continues to disrupt car manufacturing.

We all thought that car production numbers decimated by Covid issues would recover once we got a bit of a grip on the pandemic, but the global shortage of ‘Chips’ – a consequence of increased demand during the pandemic – has seen car makers struggle to ramp up production to meet demand.

The consequence of that is clear in UK car production figures for January 2022, which shows car production down by 20.1 per cent on January 2021 when we were still hampered by direct Covid problems (and Brexit complications).

January’s figures show just 68,790 cars were produced in the UK – the lowest January figures since 2009 – and made lower too by the ending of manufacturing at Honda in Swindon and production variations caused by the changeover of some popular models.

Unsurprisingly, and probably driven more by prioritisation than demand, EVs accounted for one in 11 cars built, with EVs, Hybrid and PHEVs combined accounting for 27.5 per cent of total production.

Of the cars produced, more than 80 per cent were exported, with EU countries accounting for nearly 60 per cent of exports, with exports holding up better (down 17.5 per cent) than domestic markets (down 30.8 per cent).

Mike Hawes, SMMT CEO, said:

It’s another torrid start to the year as global supply issues and structural changes squeeze output while model changes impact production scheduling. The UK automotive manufacturing industry is, however, fundamentally strong and recent investment announcements are testament to the potential for growth, not least in terms of rising EV production.

Long-term recovery can only be delivered, however, if global competitiveness is assured and for that we must address both inflationary and fixed costs, most obviously escalating energy prices, but also fiscal and trading costs.