UK car production slows in February

p46 Workers on the Honda Civic production line at the Honda factory in Swindon. Car and commercial vehicle (CV) production roared ahead last month compared with May 2009. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Thursday June 17 2010. A total of 104,365 cars were produced in the UK in May 2010 - a 54.0% rise on the same month last year, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. See PA story TRANSPORT Production. Photo credit should read: Barry Batchelor/PA Wire

Barry Batchelor/PA Wire

Peter Woodman

20 March 2014

The number of cars made in the UK slowed last month as domestic demand for vehicles fell more sharply than the rate exports rose.

Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed a total of 133,730 cars were made in the UK in February which was 2.7% fewer than in February 2013,

Cars made for the export market rose 3.5% last month, but manufacturing for the home market was down 20.8%.

The SMMT said it reckoned the value of an average car exported has risen by more than 70% since 2007 to more than £20,000.

The latest figures mean that car production for the first two months of this year has dipped 1.4% compared with the total achieved in January and February 2013.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "UK car manufacturing has been broadly stable over the first two months of 2014, dipping only marginally due to forecast product cycle changes.

"The significant increase in the value of car exports in recent years reflects the changing profile of the models produced and underlines the sector's economic importance.

"With the effects of recent investments still to be fully realised, the industry looks forward to providing an even greater contribution to the UK economy in the future."