UK car manufacturing and exports reach a four-year pinnacle

UK car manufacturing and exports reach a four-year pinnacle

In the figures recently released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), we see that 2012 was an abundant year for the car manufacturing trade, with the number of vehicles produced in the UK overtaking the previous four-year peak.

Vehicle manufacture in total in the UK was 1.58 million, which is a rise of 8%. Of this total, 1,464,906 were cars, which shows an increase of 9% over 2011. Additionally, 2012 was a fantastic year for cars produced for exports, and ended up being the best year on record for such. Exports was a 7.8% year-on-year increase, and exceeded 1.2 million units.

The UK car production market is mainly situated in the premium brand sector, with brands such as Bentley, Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover and Rolls-Royce all having manufacturing plants over here. There is traditionally a huge demand for these brands from overseas markets, but in 2012 we also saw an increase in mainstream vehicle demand. The Nissan Washington production plant has been witnessing major interest in the Qashqai MPV, and as such has seen Nissan growing to become Britain's biggest automotive manufacturer.

Chief Executive of SMMT, Paul Everitt, commented: "The outlook for 2013 remains positive with demand in many faster-growing global markets offsetting the continued weakness in European economies... The £6 billion of investment committed to UK facilities, new model programmes and research and development signals a bright future and many new opportunities for companies in the supply chain."

On the flip-side, Britain's commercial vehicle manufacturing industry saw it's production fall hard and fast, dropping by 6.8% in the year, and producing just 112,039 vehicles. In December alone, figures dropped by a huge 19%, where on the other hand, traditional car production increased by 6.2% in the same timeframe.

---

---