Today, SMMT has published the UK’s latest commercial vehicle manufacturing figures with 14,643 units leaving production lines in September – year on year growth of more than a quarter (25.9%), driven by exports as more than six in 10 (63.3%) British-built CVs headed abroad. It’s great news which comes with fresh trade data analysis from SMMT, showing the automotive sector remains the UK’s largest exporter of manufactured products in the first half of 2024, thanks to high demand for British-built vehicles. Indeed, so far this year we have seen the biggest volume of CV production since 2008, driven by overseas demand.
Also within the last seven days, government announced its latest green paper, Invest 2035: UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, aiming to deliver certainty and stability for business investment in high growth sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, where the commercial vehicle sector has a huge role to play. There continues to be big global investment in new CV models with electric and hydrogen vans, pickups, taxis, buses and trucks, and even more of these can be made in the UK, but we must ensure we grow UK competitiveness, to ensure we attract the investment on offer.
I was also very pleased that bus manufacturing has been a recent focus for government, with the announcement of the new UK Bus Manufacturing Expert Panel. In addition to the UK’s eight minibus, bus and coach manufacturers, we have many businesses in the wider supply chain which provides thousands of jobs. A holistic plan can bring the growth to the bus sector which government wants, and which has long been needed.
The UK already has the strength of being the biggest market in Europe for new zero emission bus registrations, which is crucial because vehicle manufacturers often prefer to locate near to their largest markets. We can’t rely on that alone though, so we need to increase manufacturing competitiveness here by supplying more affordable energy for our factories, by upskilling our country to become a futureproofed workforce, and by having strong trade relationships, such as with the EU where so many of our commercial vehicles are exported.
While the UK’s new zero emission bus market is thriving, other sectors cannot be left behind, so we need to encourage more demand for the greenest vans and trucks. There is big appetite from industry to showcase the latest innovations and discuss the benefits of zero emission vehicles with fleet operators – as shown by the fact that 70% of floorspace for next April’s Commercial Vehicle Show has already been snapped up by exhibitors. Businesses are encouraged to avoid missing out on exhibiting their products, and can find out more on how to book a space here.
Finally, SMMT has partnered with Autocar to launch a new event, Drivers of Change, which will celebrate the automotive sector as a place that welcomes everybody. People from across the industry can enter nine categories – including PR, marketing, manufacturing, operations, purchasing, retail, sales, and vehicle development – and the deadline for entries has been extended to Friday 1 November. So, get writing your submission now to be one of the winners announced at the awards celebration, being held at SMMT on 6 February next year.