UK car manufacturing went into reverse in August as factories closed for the summer holidays.<\/p>\n
A total of 71,065 cars rolled off production lines last month, 22% less than the 91,282 cars built in August 2013, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).<\/p>\n
The SMMT said August was typically a quiet month for car production, and the particularly sharp slowdown could be explained by the timing of factory shutdowns, with many closing a week later than last year.<\/p>\n
Over a longer period, stripping out the monthly volatility, the SMMT figures showed car manufacturing in the first eight months of the year was 1% higher than the same period last year, at 994,949 vehicles. Almost 80% of those were built for export.<\/p>\n
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: \u201cVolumes are still strong for the year to date, with the UK automotive sector in the midst of a renaissance. Global demand for quality UK-built products is at an unprecedented level, with significant investments into UK production facilities from government and industry currently being realised.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trade body believes UK car manufacturing will be boosted in the coming months, as factories feel the benefit of investment in the latest models, including the Mini five-door hatchback in Oxford, and the Jaguar XE in Solihull.<\/p>\n
The SMMT expects almost 1.6m cars to be built in the UK in 2014, beating a six-year high of 1.51m in 2013. It expects the 1972 record high of 1.92m cars built in Britain to be smashed in 2017.<\/p>\n
UK car manufacturing has been growing despite a weak economy in Europe, its main export market. Highlighting the longer-term potential of the industry, Hawes said: \u201cSeveral billion pounds have been committed to the sector in the past two years alone, much of which is yet to be fully realised in production volumes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is still potential for growth in the rest of Europe \u2013 the UK\u2019s key market \u2013 which, while recovering gradually, still remains 15% behind pre-recession levels after a lengthy period of decline. This potential, combined with a strong UK market and increasing demand outside the EU, is expected to drive production growth in the months and years ahead.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UK car manufacturing went into reverse in August as factories closed for the summer holidays. A total of 71,065 cars rolled off production lines last month, 22% less than the 91,282 cars built in August 2013, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). The SMMT said August was typically a quiet month …<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[48,36,49,96,87],"class_list":["post-681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-unrecognized","tag-automotive","tag-business","tag-car-industry","tag-smmt","tag-world"],"yoast_head":"\n