17 year high for manufacturing

The UK car manufacturing industry has seen its best month since 2000 according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Driven by export demand, British car makers produced 170,691 vehicles in March, up 7.3%, making it the biggest month of production in 17 years. One car was exported every 20 seconds in March with export demand up 10.6% on previous year.

The figures made it the biggest Q1 for 17 years for UK car manufacturing with 471,695 units produced so far in 2017, up 7.6%.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said, ‘UK car manufacturing is accelerating thanks to billions of pounds of investment committed over the past few years. A large proportion are the latest low emission diesels and it’s essential for future growth and employment that we encourage these newer, cleaner diesels onto UK roads and avoid penalising consumers who choose diesel for its fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. Much of our output goes to Europe and it’s vital we maintain free trade between the UK and EU or we risk destroying this success story.’

 

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