UK car production falls almost 4% in April but domestic market remains robust

WEAK export demand has continued to impact UK car production. April saw a near 4% fall in volumes compared with the same month a year ago.

The robust UK market continued to bolster the industry, with demand up 11% on a year ago; however, export volumes declined by 7.6% last month and are down 7% for the year to date.

While 530,505 cars rolled off production lines in the first four months of the year, the figure is down 1.4% on what was achieved last year – even taking into account the strong domestic demand.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders preferred to view things more positively. It said year-to-date output was stable, with the industry yet to receive the benefit of billions of pounds of investment.

Figures released by the SMMT for April show production for the domestic market was up 19.4% in the first four months of the year, which it said reflected the strong performance of the UK new car market.

However, the number of vehicles destined for export markets declined to 395,060 for the year to date (2014: 424,805).

The SMMT said the figures should be viewed against the fact the UK automotive industry was gearing up for a wave of new models following massive investment into the UK by the likes of Bentley, Honda, Jaguar Land Rover and Mini – all of which  have new products due to roll off production lines in the next few months.
 
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “UK car production has escalated in recent years and continues to perform steadily in 2015. Manufacturers across the country are poised to see yet more growth following multi billion pound investments and, providing global markets perform well, output is on track to reach record levels in the next few years.”