Latest sign of struggling industry as car production falls for eighth month in a row – SMMT

UK vehicle production has slowed, per industry figures, in the most contemporary price of a struggling sector.

For the eighth month in a row UK vehicle manufacturing fell, per records from the Society of Motor Producers and Traders (SMMT).

October saw 15.3% fewer cars roll off manufacturing facility lines than the same month a year in the past, meaning 14,037 fewer cars had been made final month when put next with October 2023.

The influence of this reduced production would possibly perhaps well be seen in the final week from the announcement of 800 job cuts from Ford UK and Vauxhall‘s Luton plant closure.

Section of the blame for the closure modified into positioned on authorities electrical vehicle gross sales targets by Stellantis, Vauxhall’s guardian firm.

Stress has been on UK vehicle producers to meet the authorities’s electrical vehicle mandate.

Beneath the mandate, financial penalties are for the time being levied against makers if zero-emission vehicles stand up not up to 22% of all gross sales. This would possibly perhaps upward thrust to 80% of all gross sales by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

But the gross sales contain not lived up to the targets and are not up to the forecasts made at the time the 2030 target modified into devised. In instruct of the intended 22% of all vehicle gross sales being utterly electrical at contemporary staunch 18.7% of cars are.

Following complaints from the sphere going by draw of £1.8bn in fines for missing targets and £4bn in reductions to receive electrical vehicles (EVs) extra provocative ending in April subsequent year, to boot to longstanding calls for extra pork up, a overview into the mandate modified into presented.

This day’s figures disguise production for each the UK and for export declined, with the largest plunge (17.6%) in vehicles leaving the nation.

The broad majority of vehicles (80%) are shipped in a foreign places nation with half going to Europe.

Car maker problems are not abnormal to the UK as European producers are also going by draw of weaker EV search info from than anticipated and opponents from Chinese language imports.

Excessive borrowing charges and dearer raw materials contain compounded the area.

On Friday, Bosch – the sphere’s largest vehicle parts dealer – reported the shortcoming of 5,500 jobs, predominantly in Germany.

Less than a month in the past Volkswagen revealed plans to shut not not up to three factories in Germany and lay off tens of thousands of workers.