Car production drops sharply in April

Car manufacturing in Britain has been one of the success stories of the past year, with new records for production and exports being set.

But according to figures published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers & Traders (SMMT) yesterday, production slumped by almost a fifth last month, marking the sharpest slowdown for two and a half years, says The Guardian.

A total of 122,116 cars were built in April, an 18 per cent fall on the same month last year.

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Rather than signalling the brakes being put on the industry's growth, however, the SMMT blamed the drop on the late timing of Easter, which fell in March 2016 but April this year and so "cut the number of production days", says the BBC.

"As well as the later Easter, the industry's output in April was also affected by strikes at three BMW plants in the UK in a row over pensions," it adds.

The slump in production echoed a fall in sales last month of 20 per cent, which was also blamed on an exceptional factor, in this case shoppers bringing forward purchases to avoid a rise in upfront taxes on car purchases, says the BBC.

The SMMT said the industry remains in "good health" and that 593,796 cars were made in the first four months of this year, up one per cent on 2016 and the highest number for the period since 2000.

Rising sales are being driven by overseas demand, possibly boosted by the fall in the pound making UK cars cheaper to export, although this highlights the main concern on the horizon - a hard Brexit, which could increase tariffs for trading with the EU.

As most parts used in UK car plants come from the EU, "the cost of assembling a car in Britain could increase by £2,370", says the Guardian.