Car manufacturing hits best 10 month performance in a decade

A total of 1,318,452 new cars rolled off UK production lines in the first 10 months of 2015

Car manufacturing in the UK has hit highs not seen for a decade, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

A total of 1,318,452 new cars rolled off UK production lines in the first 10 months of the year, the best performance since 2005 and up 2.8% year-to-date.

Exports drove volumes in October, with foreign demand up 1.5%, while the domestic market fell marginally month-on-month.

Year-to-date car production volumes were the best since 2005, with 36,000 more units made this year than last. In exports, more than one million British-built cars were shipped to global markets in 2015.

Despite these positive figures, SMMT also discovered that overall output in October fell 0.7% from a year earlier to 148,976 cars, with the number of models built for the domestic market dropping 8.3%.

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “Despite a small drop in overall output last month, the industry has delivered a robust performance so far this year, particularly in terms of exports.

“Given the slowdown we’ve seen in several key global markets in recent months, UK automotive manufacturing still remains in a strong position."