UK car manufacturing figures prove market’s resilience at a testing time for the sector, says KPMG

“It seems that the UK car industry has confounded summer traditions, with manufacturing figures passing the one million mark in August for the first time since 2008 and a 40.6% rise over the same month last year. Although this could be influenced by an earlier summer shutdown, the strong August figures are backed up by the fact year to date output is up by 1.6%, with a particularly strong increase within the home market at 11.1%.

“The resilience of UK car manufacturing figures is apparent despite ongoing volatility in the global markets, and the high-profile challenges facing Volkswagen this week. This resilience has benefited from the £6 billion investment by vehicle manufacturers in developing long-term strategies to support new models and facilities in the UK. The increased capacity will service the continuing strength of UK market, as well as the export market across continental Europe. 

“Recent announcements for investment include Honda’s £200 million investment for the next generation of five-door Civic, Nissan’s investment to support production of the Q30 and QX30 models, alongside the almost continuous investment by JLR in UK facilities. Long-term, the UK should achieve its ambition of reaching record volumes within the next 24 months.“