Car manufacturing sees best month for 17 years

British car makers produced 170,691 vehicles in March, up 7.3%, the biggest month in 17 years. They also enjoyed the biggest Q1 for 17 years for UK car manufacturing with 471,695 units produced so far this year, up 7.6%.

Exports continued to drive the sector in March, as demand rose 10.6% in the month, according to figures released today by SMMT. To put in perspective this equates to one car exported every 20 seconds in March with overseas buyers ordering more than 76% of output.

This helped offset a decline at home, with demand down -4.3% in the quarter.

17 year high and year-on-year growth / Graphic courtesy of SMMT

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said: “UK car manufacturing is accelerating thanks to billions of pounds of investment committed over the past few years. A large proportion are the latest low emission diesels and it’s essential for future growth and employment that we encourage these newer, cleaner diesels onto UK roads and avoid penalising consumers who choose diesel for its fuel efficiency and lower CO₂emissions. Much of our output goes to Europe and it’s vital we maintain free trade between the UK and EU or we risk destroying this success story.”