Vehicle production in the United Kingdom fell to its lowest level in 70 years after a combination of poor holiday timing and tariff uncertainty, according to Wards Auto. Citing the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), the UK built just 59,203 units in April, the lowest monthly level since 1952, save for a handful of lockdown months during the pandemic in 2020.
The dismal production month can be blamed on a series of factors. A late Easter holiday, which took place in April this year, sliced into production time. Model changeovers, which forced automakers to pause production lines for upgrades, also ate into the overall output. The biggest factor continues to be US auto tariffs, which, as of this writing, sit at 10 percent for up to 100,000 vehicles annually.
Photo by: Rolls-Royce
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said the UK has seen “its toughest start” to manufacturing since 2009, when the economy was still dealing with the financial crisis caused by subprime mortgage lending in the United States.
“Urgent action is needed to boost domestic demand and our international competitiveness,” Hawes said in a statement. “Government has recognized automotive manufacturing’s critical role in driving the UK economy, having successfully negotiated improved trading conditions for the sector with the US, EU and India in the space of a month.”
April production represents a 15.8-percent decline compared to the same period last year. Looking deeper, passenger vehicles saw an 8.6-percent decline to 56,534 units, while commercial vehicles saw a more substantial 68.6-percent decline to just 2,669 units. Wards attributes the drop to a plant closure and the “normalizing of demand” for commercial vehicles following a post-pandemic boom.
Tariffs might be causing uncertainty, but the UK’s main export region is still Europe. Shipments to the mainland fell 19.1 percent in April—but still represented more than half of all exports. The number of vehicles sent to the US fell by 2.7 percent in the same period. Meanwhile, shipments to China and Türkyie jumped 44 percent and 31.2 percent, respectively. So it’s not all doom and gloom.
“To take advantage of these trading opportunities, we must secure additional investment which will depend on the competitiveness and confidence that can be provided by a comprehensive and innovative long-term industrial strategy,” said Hawes. “Get this right and the jobs, economic growth and decarbonization will flow across the UK.”