Car production up by more than 17% in October underlining strong growth

UK car production rose 17.4% in October, further underlining the continuing growth in the sector.

Output grew to 160,854 units, the largest monthly increase so far this year, while in the year-to-date, 1,286,287 cars have rolled off the production lines – an increase of 5.4%.

Manufacturing for the home market was also up significantly at 52.4%, while export growth remained strong at 11.4%.

Around 50% of UK car exports go to Europe and after months of decline, EU demand has shown signs of improving and has now recorded two consecutive months of growth.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “UK car manufacturing for the home market increased strongly in October raising the year’s performance 26.6% ahead of 2012.

“More than 15 brands build 50-plus models of car across the UK with volume and niche offerings providing a wealth of choice for our home and export markets. With European demand showing early signs of recovery, we expect production to continue positively in the coming months.”

The news was not so good for the commercial vehicle sector, where output fell almost 34% last month.

Production declined to 7,825 vehicles, while for the year-to-date, output was down 20% to 75,484 units.

Bus and truck manufacturing remained a bright spot, but overall the SMMT said the outlook remained gloomy for the rest of the year.

“The downward trend in CV production continued in October, given continually low levels of demand across the EU combined and structural and model changes in the UK,” added Hawes.

“Despite some areas of good news, with UK bus and truck manufacturing growing in the month, the domestic CV manufacturing outlook remains negative for the rest of the year.”

There was better news on engine production with output rising 6.5% last month.