The UK car industry last month recorded its best October for production levels since the Covid-19 pandemic, with an output of 91,521 units.
That represents a 31.6% improvement compared with October 2022 and is 41.4% better than in October 2021.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) attributed the jump to a rise in exports, with shipments to the EU rising by 58.5% to 49,123 cars. That figure constitutes almost two-thirds (65.2%) of the UK’s total car output during October 2023.
Production of parallel-hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery-electric cars is also on the up, rising by 52.1% year on year to 30,212 units.
However, there is still a significant deficit to be made up before production levels rebound to pre-pandemic levels.
A total of 134,752 cars left factories across the UK in October 2019 – which was itself a small downturn compared with 140,374 a year prior.
So far this year, 882,681 cars have been built across the UK, up 16.7% on the figure recorded at the end of October 2022.
In light of the increase, the SMMT has raised its forecast for full-year output to one million cars and light vans.
“These figures, coming on the back of a series of significant investment announcements, signpost a bright 2024 for the UK automotive sector,” said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
The UK government recently outlined more than £2 billion in upcoming investment for the automotive sector as part of the new Advanced Manufacturing Plan.
The plan highlights a need to rapidly scale up production of EVs, hailing recent successes such as JLR-parent Tata’s decision to build a battery factory in Somerset, and Nissan’s investment to build the next-generation Qashqai and Juke in Sunderland.
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