UK car production hits lowest point in more than 70 years
Just under 60,000 cars were produced last month – the lowest number since the early fifties
Car production in the UK fell to its lowest level in more than 70 years last month, with experts citing the impact of Trump tariffs as well as the Easter break – and warning that the UK car industry is in a “low-volume crisis”.
April saw just 59,203 new cars built in the UK, which represents a 16 per cent drop compared with the same month last year. It’s also the lowest April output figure since 1952, with the exception of 2020 due to the Covid-19 lockdown, in which production was effectively halted.
With April’s production figures also a quarter down on March, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) pointed to the Easter break, as well as production changeovers which saw pauses in output.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes described the past few months as the “toughest start to the year since 2009”, stating that “urgent action is needed to boost domestic demand and our international competitiveness”.
Hawes continued: “To take advantage of these trading opportunities we must secure additional investment, which will depend on the competitiveness and confidence that can be provided by a comprehensive and innovative long-term industrial strategy. Get this right and the jobs, economic growth and decarbonisation will flow across the UK.”
However, it’s important not to downplay the impact of US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on automotive imports when discussing the UK’s production figures; exports to America fell by just over 10 per cent last month.
Professor of Business Economics at the University of Birmingham, David Bailey, told Auto Express that the UK car industry is in “a low- volume crisis, operating well below capacity and hence with higher cost”.
Bailey stated: “The UK industry is not alone in the pressures it faces, but the Trump tariffs have had a particular impact on [the] UK auto [sector], given the success of British premium and luxury brands in selling into the US.”
The solution to all this? Bailey called on the Government to publish and set out its delayed industrial strategy “sooner rather than later”.
He said: “It’s vital to help advanced manufacturing – and automotive – on a range of issues like attracting investment into making EVs, rebuilding the supply chain (including for batteries), retraining and reskilling workers and cutting energy costs.”
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