UK vehicle production was down again last month, driven by a huge slump in the number of commercial vehicles built compared with November 2024.
Just 2806 commercial vehicles rolled off production lines in November, down 9943 or 78% year on year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
This, the SMMT noted, was mainly down to work taking place at Stellantis’s Ellesmere Port plant, which is being upgraded to take on extra workload resulting from the closure of the firm's Luton factory.
Car production meanwhile dropped by only 1090 (1.7%) – a stark contrast to heavy drops in September (27.1%) and October (23.8%) as JLR was forced to suspend its global operations for six weeks following a major cyber attack.
Overall vehicle production was recorded at 65,932 in November, down 14.3% on the previous year. This was the fourth consecutive month of production decline.
Exports – which make up around 80% of all cars produced in the UK – were hit hardest, down 13,415 (21.2%) year on year to 49,907. Cars produced for the UK market rose by 2382 (17.5%) to 16,025, though.
In terms of year-to-date figures, the UK has built 710,298 cars in the first 11 months of the year, a drop of 142,847 compared with the same period last year. Again, the 16.7% drop is largely due to the JLR shutdown.
SMMT boss Mike Hawes was keen to highlight that car production “is normalising” following the cyber attack, adding that “the sector can look forward with some optimism” especially given that production of the new Nissan Leaf EV began this week in Sunderland.
Looking ahead, he added: “Growth is expected next year, with the industry poised to reap the benefits of recent UK government backing – notably new funding, modernised trade deals and efforts to reduce energy costs."
Add your comment