UK Car Manufacturing (Top 9 Makes) 2015-17

Car manufacturing in the UK is fairly consistent with little chance of much growth with no new companies arriving and JLR now outsourcing all production growth. The best outcome would be holding its own. In 2015 !,587,700 were made, 1,722,700 for 2016 and 1,671,200 in 2017.

Nissan holds top spot thanks mainly to the Qashqai SUV with 347,000 out of the 468,000 made. The Nissan brand accounted for 28% of the total.

Land Rover spreads itself around the various models more evenly. The Evoque (81,000)  Discovery Sport (79,000) and Discovery (75,000 approx) all close together. 23.7% of all cars made in the UK.

MINI does the Hatch, Clubman and soft top models but I only have the total figure of 219,000 and 13.1% of the total. Honda does Two models, the Civic (123,000) and the CR-V. Combined it's 164,200 and 9.8%. The rest is self explanatory.

	Brand	2017	2016	2015
	Nissan	468,300	474,900	474,800
		28.0	27.6	29.9
	Land Rover	395,500	371,900	387,300
		23.7	21.6	24.4
	MINI	218,900	211,000	201,200
		13.1	12.2	12.7
	Honda	164,200	134,100	119,400
		9.8	7.8	7.5
	Toyota	144,100	180,400	190,200
		8.6	10.5	12.0
	Jaguar	136,700	172,600	102,300
		8.2	10.0	6.5
	Vauxhall	92,200	118,200	85,200
		5.5	6.9	5.4
	Infiniti	27,000	33,000	2,000
		1.6	1.9	0.1
	Bentley	10,500	11,700	10,700

UK Net Importing : 2016-17

The UK has been a net importer of cars for many decades. There are a number of brands that are contributors and we can see this below. It only compares the past two years but if you want to see earlier years, simply click in the dates 2014-15, 2013-14, 1990-2011.

Getting back to the present, we see the UK's net imports dropped from 970,000 to 870,000, from -36.0% to 34.2% when comparing prodution to sales. That is the lowest net negative since 2013. Nissan is the best of the brands with a export surplus of 317,000, closely followed by Land Rover with 312,000.

The new 2019 Auris to be made in the UK

Honda gained well thanks to the Civic, passing both Toyota and Jaguar that both had falls. The Avensis is to be dropped from the Toyota, with a new Auris (Corolla) becoming the sole model made (see above).

The chart below is in thousands so please add 000. ‘Prod’ equals numbers made, ‘UK’ shows sales within the country, and ‘Export’ is the difference of the first two, therefore the net difference.

2016	Prod	UK	Export		2017	Prod	UK	Export
Nissan	475	153	322		Nissan	468	151	317
Land Rover	372	80	292		Land Rover	395	83	312
Mini	211	69	142		Mini	219	68	151
Jaguar	173	35	138		Honda	164	54	110
Toyota	180	97	83		Jaguar	137	36	101
Honda	134	59	75		Toyota	144	102	42
Infiniti	33	3	30		Infiniti	27	4	23
Bentley	12	2	10		Bentley	10	2	8
Vauxhall	118	251	-133		Vauxhall	92	195	-103
Rest	15	1,944	-1,929		Rest	15	1,846	-1,831
Total	1,723	2,693	-970		Total	1,671	2,541	-870
Net Importer			-36.0		Net Importer			-34.2

Car manufacturing is complex and companies try to keep factories running as close to capacity as possible. Models that are close to being replaced inevitably drop off and decisions to move production from one factory to another has dramatic changes in volumes.

Honda Canada/Mex Production (Plant) : 2016-17

Apparently it snows in Canada

Honda made 430,164 vehicles in Canada (+4.6%) and 213,449 in Mexico (-16.3%). Adding the two, it becomes a total of 643,613 (-3.4%). Mexico's issue was the end of the CR-V being made there, otherwise it was OK. However, recent flooding has stopped production at Honda's plant in Mexico (Celaya) for about three months. The other facility (El Salto) is still operational. Canada was very stable numerically.

	Honda Canada – Model
		2017	%	+/-		2016	%	+/-
	Total	430,164		4.6		411,162		6.8
	CR-V	219,966	34.2	7.1		205,400	30.8	-0.4
	Civic	210,198	32.7	2.2		205,762	30.9	15.1
	Honda Mexico – Model
	Total	213,449		-16.3		254,982		22.7
	HR-V	157,418	24.5	-8.5		172,090	25.8	71.4
	Fit	56,031	8.7	137		23,604	3.5	-46.6
	CR-V	-		n/a		59,288	8.9	-6.1
	Grand Total	643,613		-3.4		666,144		12.4

Data source: Honda.

The HR-V

Honda/Acura US Production (Plant) : 2016-17

The Honda Pilot SUV

The Honda brand produced 1,038,024 vehicles in the US and 169,794 of the Acura. Production volume was - 5.6% for Honda and -11.1% for Acura, with a combined -6.4%. The Accord and Civic models were down, while the CR-V and Pilot were up.

The Civic is made in Greensburg, Indiana and it took on the CR-V to compensate for loss of Civic volume. The Lincoln, Alabama plant lost a bit with Acura but gained with Honda. The reverse took place with the East Liberty, Ohio facility. Balancing these things is important in keeping plants productive. The Acura NSX is made in a special, high tech facility which such a model requires.

	Honda USA – Plant
		2017	%	+/-		2016	%	+/-
	Total	1,038,024		-5.6		1,099,115		3.5
	Marysville -	327,425	31.5	-13.5		378,393	34.4	-0.3
	Accord	327,425				378,393
	Lincoln -	321,582	31.0	5.3		305,276	27.8	7.7
	Odyssey	118,888				130,586
	Pilot	163,412				140,091
	Ridgeline	39,282				34,599
	Greensburg -	239,721	23.1	-3.7		248,820	22.6	14.0
	Civic	146,580				248,820
	CR-V	93,085
	Insight	56
	East Liberty -	149,296	14.4	-10.4		166,626	15.2	-8.0
	CR-V	149,296				166,626
	Acura USA – Plant
		2017	%	+/-		2016	%	+/-
	Total	169,794		-11.1		190,937		-8.0
	East Liberty -	81,222	7.8	20.4		67,472	6.1	12.4
	RDX	56,979				67,472
	RDX	24,243
	Marysville -	51,888	5.0	-11.2		58,453	5.3	-28.0
	TL/TLX	42,080				43,156
	ILX	9,808				15,297
	Lincoln -	35,759	3.4	-44.4		64,300	5.9	-2.9
	MDX	35,759				64,300
	PMC Ohio -	925	0.1	29.9		712	0.1
	NSX	925				712

Now for a summary of both brands by model. I have to say that the company seems to have a laissez-faire attitude to Acura. There is little effort to push the marque beyond it present boundaries in sales markets nor product.

As for the Honda brand, it is very strong in the US although cars sales are in decline and that is where much reliance is currently placed. The Pilot and CR-V are two SUVs but maybe another would be useful. The Ridgeline pickup truck is a solid effort but lacks variants and options. The move away from cars has to be something Honda is watching.

	Honda USA – Model
		2017	%	+/-		2016	%	+/-
	Accord	327,425	27.1	-13.5		378,393	29.3	-0.3
	CR-V	242,381	20.1	45.5		166,626	12.9	-5.3
	Pilot	163,412	13.5	16.6		140,091	10.9	5.6
	Civic	146,580	12.1	-41.1		248,820	19.3	14.0
	Odyssey	118,888	9.8	-9.0		130,586	10.1	-13.3
	Ridgeline	39,282	3.3	13.5		34,599	2.7
	Total Honda	1,037,968		-5.6		1,099,115		3.5
	Acura USA – Model
		2017	%	+/-		2016	%	+/-
	MDX	60,002	5.8	-6.7		64,300	5.9	-2.9
	RDX	56,979	5.5	-15.6		67,472	6.1	12.4
	TL/TLX	42,080	4.1	-2.5		43,156	3.9	-18.9
	ILX	9,808	0.9	-35.9		15,297	1.4	-45.4
	NSX	925	0.1			712	0.1
	Total Acura	169,794		-11.1		190,937		-8.0
	Grand Total	1,207,762		-6.4		1,290,052		1.6

Data source: Honda.

The Acura CDX doing a narcissus impression