Car production remains depressed

The long-tail impact of the cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover has continued to weigh on UK car production, new figures show.

This morning’s car industry data for October from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders showed that the number of cars rolling off UK assembly lines fell year on year by nearly 24 per cent to 59,000. That followed September numbers which had shown a 27 per cent decline.

In the first ten months of the year, UK car production is now running 10 per cent lower at 602,000. Before the dislocations of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, Britain was producing 1.7 million cars a year.

The motor industry has not been this small in 70 years since the 1950s and the arrival of mass volume cars like Mini coupled with investments by American carmakers like Ford.

JLR’s Range Rover plants in the West Midlands and on Merseyside were closed for the whole of September following the damaging cyberattack. Production at what is Britain’s second-largest carmaker after Nissan only tentatively restarted during October.

Commercial vehicle production, hobbled by the decision of the European automotive giant Stellantis to close the historic Vauxhall van plant in Bedfordshire, is faring even worse: down 75 per cent to just 3,000 units in October and 60 per cent lower in the year to date at 42,200.

Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, admitted it had been “another difficult month” for the industry but insisted:  “Growth is on the horizon.”