UK Car Production Falls 10.2% In August: SMMT

(RTTNews) - UK car production declined in August amid summer shutdowns after rising in the previous two months, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, or SMMT, said Thursday.

Car production fell 10.2 percent yearly to 37,072 units in August, which is traditionally the quietest month of the year, with planned summer shutdowns taking place to enable maintenance and retooling.

Car production for the domestic market grew 11.5 percent, while export market demand contracted by 142.2 percent.

Commercial vehicle output plunged 73.2 percent, driven by the consolidation of manufacturing operations at a major manufacturer. As a result, total vehicle production slumped 18.2 percent to 38,693 units in August, the weakest performance since 1956.

The overall decline in vehicle production signals the challenging environment facing UK automotive manufacturers, with soft conditions in the sector's largest market, the EU, significant cost pressures, model transitions, and slow economic growth.

Meanwhile, electrified car production logged a surge of 40.9 percent to 16,830 units, with hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles accounting for almost half the units produced in August.

"August is always a low volume month due to planned summer maintenance, but the focus is now on September's performance and the likely impact of the cyberattack at Britain's biggest automotive employer," Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said.

"Given this incident and the industry's importance to jobs, growth, and trade, rapid delivery of the Industrial Strategy and Drive35 is now critical."