UK car production soars in July

UK car production rose by more than a fifth in July – the 13 consecutive month it has increased – and by more than 15% for the year-to-date.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said car making in the UK was continuing to perform well as demand from home and abroad remained resilient.

Paul Everitt, SMMT’s chief executive, said that while uncertainty across Europe “remained a challenge”, investment into the UK automotive sector of £6bn in the last two years delivered "long-term growth opportunities and the latest figures show that our products have enormous global appeal”.

Car exports rose more than 15% in July to 94,490, reported the SMMT.

The car production numbers come hot on the heels of Jaguar Land Rover’s decision to increase the number of 24/7 shifts at its Halewood plant to three in order to cope with demand, mainly coming from the Far East, for its Evoque model.

The SMMT said production of commercial vehicles had “stabilised” in July, down 1.3%, and had fallen 7.7% since the start of 2012.

UK engine production was up 0.3% since the beginning of the year but 1.9% down on June.

The latest production figures come a week after the SMMT said new UK car registrations had risen 9.3% in July to 143,884.

(See Hamish Champ's blog)

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