CEO Update

Yet another month of falling car production in the UK – numbers were down -4.0% in October, with 134,752 units coming off production lines. This means that output has dropped in 16 of the last 17 months, with August 2019…

This week SMMT joined some of the UK’s leading auto-tech companies in Los Angeles as part of a Department for International Trade delegation to Automobility LA. Its mission was to highlight UK expertise and opportunities, as well as funding, in…

It was encouraging to see this week that used car sales have bounced back by 0.9% in the third quarter of 2019 after nine successive quarters of decline. It has been a volatile market in recent times, but we need…

This week’s new car registration figures were another sobering reminder that consumer confidence in the UK remains weak. The overall market remains tough, with October representing the eighth month of decline in 2019 as passenger car numbers dropped -6.7% on…

Sadly, there’s little surprise that this month’s manufacturing figures are again bad news, thanks to ongoing domestic and international market contraction. There is also, of course, the continuing uncertainty over Brexit and the consequent political and economic anxiety, which has…

The government announced initial plans this week for electric vehicles to get green number plates, or some similar marker of their zero emission status. Ideas that promote the take-up of these new technologies are to be welcomed, and the fact…

We published the results this week of a survey of SMMT members to gauge sentiment around Brexit and to hear how companies have already been affected. 80.3% of respondents said that ‘no deal’ would damage their business’s future, and previous…

There’s been a lot of coverage this week of the protests by Extinction Rebellion in London, with roads blocked (not least outside SMMT offices) and much noise being made about the country’s progress on climate change. It goes without saying…

Today’s car registration figures show that September, with its new 69-plate, saw a modest increase of just over 1% – only the second time we’ve seen growth in 2019 since the traditionally slow month of February. While this is good…

While it’s always noteworthy to see the UK’s manufacturing and registrations figures each month, there’s always a wider narrative at play, and it’s no different with the August production figures that were released this week. While a 3.3% growth year-on-year…