Production figures released today by SMMT show:
- Car output in January rose 3.8 per cent to 141,320 units
- Production for export surged 12.4 per cent to 96,389 units
Commenting on last month’s production figures, SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said, ‘January’s growth in car output marked the fifth successive monthly rise. We expect this steady growth to continue in the months to come with a total of 1.65 million units produced by the end of 2004.’
January sees recent robust growth sustained
Provisional output data released today by the Office for National Statistics show that:
- January’s CV output rose 29.9 per cent on January 2003
- In the three months to January 2004, output rose 17.7 per cent
Christopher Macgowan, SMMT chief executive said, ‘The past quarter has seen a marked pick-up in the UK’s CV sector. Production has grown at the fastest, most consistent rate for some two years, most of it focused on the home market. Against the variable trends of 2003 the recent performance is a good start to the year.’ SMMT expected the underlying annual total in 2004 to be broadly stable around the 190,000 unit mark. ‘But recent demand has been better than expected. If this holds in the face of the anticipated interest rate rises then the UK market prospects can only get better. This is good news for UK plants. And if weak continental demand also picks up, the CV sector’s strong export potential will benefit.’
