UK car production fell for the eighth month in a row in October, as vehicle manufacturers continue to restructure plants for zero emission vehicles.
Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders found that output was down 15.3% in the month to 77,484 units, which is 14,037 fewer than October 2023.
This means that year-to-date car production is 10.8% below the first 10 months of last year, with 670,346 units joining the UK car parc.
Output of electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hybrids totalled 24,719 units last month, accounting for 31.9% of output, although this represents a decline of 32.6%.
Figures also revealed that output for the domestic market fell by 4.7% while exports decreased by 17.6%.
The SMMT is now predicting that production for the year will be 911,000 vehicles, slipping further to 839,000 next year. This compares to the 1.4 million vehicles produced in 2019. It warns that if current zero emission stipulations remain in place, production could slide to under 750,000 vehicles by 2030.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “These are deeply concerning times for the automotive industry, with massive investments in plants and new zero emission products under intense pressure. Slowdowns in the global market – especially for EVs – are impacting production output, with the situation in the UK particularly acute given we have arguably the toughest targets and most accelerated timeline but without the consumer incentives necessary to drive demand.
“The cost of stimulating that demand and complying with those targets is huge and, as we are seeing, unsustainable. Urgent action is therefore needed and we will work with government on its rapid review of the regulation and the development of an ambitious and comprehensive Industrial Strategy to assure our competitiveness.”
