UK car production lower on falling demand
The volatile global economy is affecting the demand for new cars around the world, says the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) which has published the latest monthly UK production figures.
August saw UK car production fall back 17% to 82,858 although the year-to-date figure remained up 4.5% at over one million, three quarters of them built for export.
Commercial vehicls suffered an even greater August drop in numbers, down 28% at 9,356 but again rallied with the year on year figure up almost 11% at 151,860 – 60% of them going abroad.
The latest production figures reflected the challenging market conditions, said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt, but also the continued strength of UK vehicle production.
“UK-produced vehicles are exported to more than 100 separate markets around the globe. This spread of demand provides greater resilience and we expect total production to be similar to the 1.75 million produced in 2007,” he concluded.