Manufacturers produced 4,605 additional units in July, but output remains -46.4 per cent below pre-pandemic levels. Production for the UK market rose 40.7 per cent to 11,583 units, with exports also up by 2.8 per cent.
Exports account for eight out of 10 cars made, though shipments to the EU and US fell were down -7.3 per cent and -22.8 per cent respectively, while orders from China and Japan rose 54 per cent and 40.1 per cent.
In total, 29.9 per cent of all cars made in July were either battery electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or hybrid electric (HEV) amounting to 17,356 units, with BEV volumes up 65.9 per cent.
Despite three months of growth, year-to-date UK car production remains -16.5 per cent below the same period in 2021, at 461,174 units. According to SMMT, the decline is attributable to supply chain shortages, structural changes and weak exports, which fell -21.3 per cent to 363,223 units, with a 7.6 per cent rise in production for the UK unable to offset these losses. Over three quarters (78.8 per cent) of all cars made in Britain since January have been shipped overseas, with some 59.3 per cent into the EU.
In a statement, Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “A third consecutive month of growth for UK car production is, of course, welcome and gives some hope that the supply chain issues blighting the sector may finally be starting to ease.
“But other challenges remain, not least energy costs which are increasing at alarming rates. If we are to attract much needed investment to drive the production of zero emission vehicles, urgent action is needed to mitigate these costs to make the UK more competitive for manufacturing. This must be a priority for the next Prime Minister else we will fall further behind our global rivals, risking jobs and economic growth.”
SMMT stressed that year-on-year figures should be seen in the context of July 2021, when car manufacturers were dealing with issues including the global shortage of semiconductors and staff absences arising from the ‘pingdemic’, which forced some to alter summer shutdown timings to help manage the challenge.
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