‘Perfect storm’ sees UK demand for British-made cars plummet

UK car production for the domestic market declined by almost 50% last month in what industry experts are calling a “perfect storm” of events.

A total of 15,647 vehicles were made on UK shores for British buyers in June, down 47.2% year-on-year, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The combined total of cars manufactured, for both domestic and foreign markets, fell by 5.5% to 128,799 vehicles, the newspaper says. A 6% rise in the number of cars made for export alone helped to balance out the UK decline slightly.

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Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), told Auto Express that June’s manufacturing figures were the result of a “combination of different issues”.

Hawes said the issue may be down to the “cataclysmic fall in consumer confidence” around diesel cars and the introduction of the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) for emissions, which comes into effect on 1 September, reports Autocar.

Manufacturers have been “struggling” to adjust their current products to meet the stricter emissions standards, leading some companies to temporarily shut down operations over the summer to make adjustments to production lines.

Meanwhile, Hawes attributes the growth in British car exports to the UK’s “free and frictionless” trade agreement with the EU.

Although a no-deal Brexit threatens the agreement, the latest proposals put forward by the British government “are a step in the right direction”, he said.

“Any disruption risks undermining one of our most valuable shared economic assets”, he added.