UK automotive manufacturing is growing again

25th September 2023

UK car production grew by over 11% in the first half of 2023, whilst commercial sales grew by 16%.

EU remaining the UK’s biggest automotive market

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) report, exports account for every eight-in-ten of UK manufactured cars, with the EU remaining the UK’s biggest market. The latest figures from the (SMMT) confirm that UK car production has consecutively grown since January to the half yearly report published at the end of June. At the same time, UK commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturing grew by 16% during the same period, with 6-in-10 CVs being exported, and 92.8% of those were shipped into the EU.

16% of all new cars sold between January and June were electric

UK electrified vehicle production accounting for 170,231 units for the first half of 2023, that's an increase of 71.6%, from January to June on last year’s figures and making it a new first half year record. That means 37.8% of all cars manufactured in the UK for this period were zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs).

"UK car manufacturing is growing again, with production – especially of electrified models – increasing and major investment announcements making headlines. This is testament to the resilience of the sector and its undoubted strengths – a skilled and productive workforce, world-class R&D, and efficient, productive plants. But we must build on this momentum, sustain growth and attract further investments with a strategy that focuses on competitiveness and which strengthens the UK’s unique automotive offering."

Mike Hawes SMMT Chief Executive

The future is looking brighter

The latest independent production outlook shows the potential for UK vehicle manufacturing output. Total UK car production is expected to reach around 860,000 units this year, an uplift of 10.9% on 2022, as the sector recovers from three tough Covid years, with the possibility to get back to near a million cars in 2028. (Independent production outlook snapshot June 2023 from AutoAnalysis). Significantly, that volume will be electrified, with a 10-fold rise in annual BEV production anticipated, to more than 750,000 units per year by 2030, a potential £106 billion prize from now until the end of the next parliament. (Value based on analysis of new AutoAnalysis outlook ‘optimistic scenario’ for UK production by powertrain and estimates of battery electric vehicle factory gate prices.)

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