Car production in the UK has fallen by -7.6 per cent in the first half of 2024 as manufacturers struggle to adapt to new electric vehicle targets.
The data, from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), found that factories produced 416,074 units in the first six months of the year, more than 34,000 models fewer than the same period in 2023.
The SMMT identified June as a particularly problematic month for production, with a -26.6 per cent decline caused by “multiple model changes”.
Experts predicted the drop, however, following massive investment into production lines to adapt to the development of new electric vehicles, supported by £23.7billion worth of UK investment.
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Car production dropped in the first six months of the year
PA
In the first six months, electric vehicle production, including battery electrics, plug-in hybrids and hybrids, also dropped by -7.6 per cent to 157,224 units.
During the same period, the UK saw a -13.9 per cent decline in production for export, with more than seven in 10 vehicles made in the UK heading overseas.
In total, 55.4 per cent of all exports in the first six months were destined for the European Union, with the SMMT highlighting the importance of the bloc for trade purposes.
The rest of the top five export locations combined for 29.4 per cent, including the United States, China, Turkey and Australia. Japan, Canada, South Korea, UAE and Switzerland completed the top 10.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, commented on the new data saying that the transition to electric vehicles can act as a “growth engine” for the entire British economy.
He also praised the Government’s commitment to furthering the switch through gigafactories, the removal of planning barriers for EV charging stations and a decarbonised energy supply.
Keir Starmer’s party outlined several pledges in the party manifesto in a bid to support electric car drivers, including more chargers, battery passports for second-hand vehicles and a promise to reinstate the original 2030 deadline to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars.
This has been supported by experts who say the original deadline will give manufacturers and drivers the assurances they require to transition to electric vehicles before the end of the decade.
The new 2035 deadline was first put forward by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last September who said the delay would give drivers a chance to adapt to cleaner vehicles on their terms, rather than having the Government force them.
Hawes continued, saying: “Amid fierce global competition, however, industry and Government must work quickly to deliver those commitments, creating an industrial strategy that enables the growth the economy craves.”
The SMMT suggests that support for the the industry could see more than nine million zero emission light vehicles produced by 2035.
This would be 600,000 more than anticipated under current projects and could be worth more than £290billion at factory gate prices.
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Rishi Sunak delayed the 2030 ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel last September
PA
As manufacturers make the switch to producing electric vehicles, estimates for light vehicle production are expected to decline -9.3 per cent to around 910,000 models.
Output will recover to just over 1.1 million units in 2028 when more than half of all UK car and van production is expected to be zero emission.
