- UK car manufacturing grew 7% in July, with sites across the UK making 128,873 units.
- Year-to-date volumes up 1.9% to 893,263 units
- Home market demand up 37.5% in month to support new plate change in September
“Car manufacturing is continuing to follow the wider UK trend for more positive economic growth with a 7% rise in July, supporting a 1.9% increase in the year so far,” said Mike Baunton, SMMT Interim Chief Executive. “We are starting to see slight signs of recovery from Europe which will support stronger production levels this year, and UK manufacturers will continue to build and develop innovative, high-quality products that appeal to a global customer base.”
| Car manufacturing | Jul-12 | Jul-13 | % Change | YTD-12 | YTD-13 | % Change |
| Total | 120,391 | 128,873 | 7.0% | 876,507 | 893,263 | 1.9% |
| Home | 21,017 | 28,895 | 37.5% | 151,819 | 191,649 | 26.2% |
| Export | 99,374 | 99,978 | 0.6% | 724,688 | 701,614 | -3.2% |
| % export | 82.5% | 77.6% | 82.7% | 78.5% |
CV manufacturing output falls in July
- Commercial vehicle (CV) output fell 11.8% to 7,942 units in July, although export demand strong with 20.3% increase in the month.
- Year-to-date levels show fall of 13.3% during the first seven months of 2013 to 56,459 units.
“Commercial vehicle manufacturers continue to battle against weak demand, despite a moderate increase in exports in July,” said Nigel Base, SMMT Commercial Vehicle Manager. “The outlook for commercial vehicle manufacturing for the rest of the year continues to be tough, especially following the closure of the Ford facility in Southampton at the end of July. However, there are some areas, such as bus and coach production, where we are continuing to see growth as operators take advantage of the wide range of vehicles built in the UK.”
| CV manufacturing | Jul-12 | Jul-13 | % Change | YTD-12 | YTD-13 | % Change |
| Total | 9,004 | 7,942 | -11.8% | 65,100 | 56,459 | -13.3% |
| Home | 4,362 | 2,358 | -45.9% | 26,270 | 26,232 | -0.1% |
| Export | 4,642 | 5,584 | 20.3% | 38,830 | 30,227 | -22.2% |
| % export | 51.6% | 70.3% | 59.6% | 53.5% |
UK engine production rises 26.4% in July
- UK engine manufacturing rose 26.4% in July to 232,545 units.
- Over 1.5 million engines made in the UK so far this year, with 11.6% increase for home market supporting UK car and CV manufacturing sites
| Engine manufacturing | Jul-12 | Jul-13 | % Change | YTD-12 | YTD-13 | % Change |
| Total | 183,948 | 232,545 | 26.4% | 1,520,227 | 1,552,543 | 2.1% |
| Home | 70,267 | 94,061 | 33.9% | 554,544 | 618,741 | 11.6% |
| Export | 113,681 | 138,484 | 21.8% | 965,683 | 933,802 | -3.3% |
| % export | 61.8% | 59.6% | 63.5% | 60.1% |
