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According to Wards Auto, UK car production has fallen to its lowest level in over 70 years, mainly due to the holiday period coupled with uncertainties surrounding tariff policies.
Data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveals that the British automotive industry produced only 59,203 cars in April, the lowest since 1952, excluding a few months of Covid-related lockdowns in 2020.
Motor1 attributes this low to a combination of factors. The late Easter holiday significantly reduced production time. Model changes, which require temporary production halts for upgrades, also contributed to the overall decline.
However, the most significant factor is the tariff policy for cars in the US, currently set at 10% of the value of the car, with a maximum of 100,000 cars per year imported from the UK.
SMMT leader, Mike Hawes, stated that the UK automotive industry has experienced its most challenging start to a year in terms of production since 2009, when the economy was facing a financial crisis.
Compared to the same period last year, UK car production in April decreased by 15.8%. Specifically, car production fell by 8.6% to 56,534 units, while commercial vehicle production dropped by 68.6% to 2,669 units.
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Wards Auto suggests that the decline in UK car production is influenced by factory closures and a “normalization of demand” for commercial vehicles following the post-pandemic boom.
While tariffs can create uncertainties, the UK’s primary export markets remain in Europe. Exports to the continent fell by 19.1% in April, yet they still accounted for over half of total exports.
During the same period, exports to the US decreased by 2.7%. Conversely, exports to China and Turkey from the UK witnessed increases of 44% and 31.2%, respectively.
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