South: October mostly strong for automotive manufacturing, reports SMMT

Demand for domestic vehicles in October represented the biggest monthly increase in 2013 UK car manufacturing.

• Car output rose 17.4% to 160,854 units, the largest monthly increase so far this year.
• 1,286,287 cars have been produced in the year-to-date – a rise of 5.4%.
• Manufacturing for the home market is up significantly at 52.4%, while export growth remains strong at 11.4%.
• Around 50% of UK car exports go to Europe. After months of decline, EU demand shows signs of improving, now recording two consecutive months of growth.

“UK car manufacturing for the home market increased strongly in October raising the year's performance 26.6% ahead of 2012,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive. “More than 15 brands build 50-plus models of car across the UK with volume and niche offerings providing a wealth of choice for our home and export markets. With European demand showing early signs of recovery, we expect production to continue positively in the coming months.”

Engine manufacturing also had a strong October with production at over two million units for the year, and output growing by 6.5% to 254,480 units.

Meanwhile, commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturing continued to slide:

• 7,825 CVs were produced in October, a decline of 33.8%.
• Output for 2013-to-date is down 19.9% to 75,484 units.
• Bus and truck manufacturing is a bright spot, but the overall outlook remains gloomy for the rest of the year.

“The downward trend in CV production continued in October, given continually low levels of demand across the EU and structural and model changes in the UK,” said Hawes. “Despite some areas of good news, with UK bus and truck manufacturing growing in the month, the domestic CV manufacturing outlook remains negative for the rest of the year.”