The UK-based Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has announced that in June this year the UK’s car output decline by 48.2 percent year on year to 56,594 units, rounding off weakest six months since 1954.
Meanwhile, the country’s car production in the first half of the year totaled 381,357 units, decreasing by 42.8 percent year on year, with 81 percent of this output shipped to foreign markets.
Chief Executive Officer of SMMT, Mike Hawes said “The critical importance of an EU-UK FTA is self-evident for UK Automotive. Our factories were once set to make two million cars in 2020 but could now produce less than half that number, a result of the devastating effects of the pandemic on top of already challenging market conditions and years of Brexit uncertainty. This industry has demonstrated its inherent competitiveness and global excellence over the past decade. Its long-term future now depends on securing a good deal and a long-term strategy that supports an industry on which so many thousands of jobs across the country depend.”
SMMT also expects UK’s car output to decrease 32 percent year on year to 880,000 units which is 30 percent less than its January estimate in 2020, recording the lowest level since 1957.
According to analysis, car production will possibly stay around the 800,000 units or less to 2025 if UK does not reach a trade agreement with the EU, and the industry trading on WTO terms with 10 percent tariffs.