UK car output rises for 13th month running

By John Simpson 16 August 2012

The number of cars built in the UK last month was up by a fifth in comparison to July 2011.

Britain-based factories rolled out 119,882 cars over July, marking the 13th consecutive monthly rise in car output. Car production for 2012 is up by 15.1% on this time last year, according to SMMT data.

Despite ongoing financial worries in Europe, nearly four in five cars built in the UK head overseas (78%).

Britain-based factories rolled out 119,882 cars over July

"Car manufacturing continued to perform well, with output up more than 22% for the month and 15% for the year-to-date," said Paul Everitt, SMMT Chief Executive.

"While uncertainty in Europe remains a challenge, the £6 billion investment committed to the UK in the last two years delivers long-term growth opportunities and the latest figures show that our products have enormous global appeal."

Production of commercial vehicles is down slightly, slipping 1.3% on July’s output. Sixty-five thousand CVs have been built in Britain this year, 7.7% less than this time in 2011. Nearly 60% of CVs are exported.


Categories: Fleet news , smmt

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