EU Key Facts

Single market

The UK’s membership of the European Union provides automotive businesses with unrestricted access to the world’s largest single market, stimulating billions of pounds of investment in the UK

  • The UK’s thriving new car market and the country’s position within the EU help make it an attractive place to invest and since 2013 more than £8 billion worth of funding has been allocated to automotive operations here.
  • British automotive manufacturing employs 160,000 people and produces more than 2.3 million engines and 1.5 million cars each year. Around 80% of UK vehicles are exported to more than 100 countries, with more than 50% shipped to the EU – our biggest single trading region.
  • The UK automotive supply chain is fully integrated across the EU. While efforts to increase local content are delivering, in 2012 63% of UK supply chain spend was sourced internationally, with the majority of suppliers located within the EU.
  • Being part of the single market provides huge consumer choice with 350 different vehicle ranges available in the UK. In 2014, 72.4% of the 2.47 million new cars registered in the UK were imported from Europe, free from costly tariffs.

Update Newsletter