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01 February 2023

UK Car Production : 2012-22













The UK motor industry has a fine historical record and still is a very important part of the economy but nothing like it once was. What changed? Poor management. Militant unions. Government indifference. Ignorance and apathy from the locals. They all played their part. If it ever disappeared, few would notice or care. 

To the left is a chart that shows each year's passenger car production, with home and export numbers underneath the total and monthly average figures. Now for some background information.

Back in 1964, vehicle production peaked at over 2.3 million. Passenger cars were at their zenith in 1972 with in excess of 1.9 million made. In 2013, 1,500,000 were made and it was on a roll as each year the numbers grew to nearly 1.7 Million in 2017. Since then, it has fallen to a low of 775,000 in 2022. That is the lowest figures since 1956. 

The curious thing is for the period covered here from 2012 there haven't been factory closures apart from Honda in July 2021. All major manufacturers have reduced units assembled. Some smaller volume manufacturers are doing well but they don't affect the total to any great degree. 

For 2022, Nissan accounted for a healthy 31% of production and Toyota a somewhat anemic 14%. I don't have data for the rest.

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4 comments:

  1. zoldfuluSunday, August 28, 2022

    You can not write an article on this specific topic without mentioning the word Brexit.
    The UK car industry was thriving until Brexit, and the falling numbers do not even tell the incredible growth potential that Jaguar was facing with improved F-Pace and E Pace, that should be equal to a money printer for any company.
    Also, while the article notes only one "closure", the pulling out of GM was surely not a preferred option with Opel models saving the survival of the Buick brand via their Chinese sales.
    Nissan was certainly holding back its production, as new models were not built in the UK, only existing ones.
    This is certainly nothing new, we knew before Brexit, and the day the EU managed to include cars in the trade deal with Japan, sealed the fate of UK car industry. After that it was better to import from Japan than from the UK.
    By 2020, the Czech Republic assembled more cars than the UK, actually even Slovakia outperformed the UK.

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    Replies
    1. RayCeeMonday, August 29, 2022

      Zuoldfulu, I didn't mention Brexit as it has no bearing on the subject. The UK has the same trade deals - or better - than it did before.

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    2. zoldfuluTuesday, August 30, 2022

      Better in what way?
      A free trade agreement is a huge step backward from the Common Market, as you can see from the endless lines of trucks at Dover. The UK car industry's main market is still the EU, even if the numbers are falling fast.


      Since the Brexit process, the UK has no longer any say in EU's trade policy. Since 2016, the EU included cars in its trade deal with Japan, making Japanese production more appealing than importing from the UK (given the uncertainties over the divorce deal and NI protocol).
      This was a clear case for moving Honda's production.

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    3. RayCeeTuesday, August 30, 2022

      The UK has been improving trade deals around the world since it's departure. There is nothing stopping vehicles being made other than semiconductor chips and a deteriorating economic situation generally.

      I think you need to let this Brexit thing go. It's nothing more than a political tool used to further some people's political agendas. It hasn't affected the car industry in the UK at all. A myriad other issues have.

      Honda isn't popular in Europe and making cars there makes no sense when most were being exported to North America and further afield. It is cheaper to make them in the market where most are being sold.

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