Car production in the UK fell in August, as factories were closed for the traditional summer shutdown, ending a period of growth for the sector.
In what the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) called “traditionally the quietest month of the year”, UK factories built just 37,072 cars – only a little over half of July’s output.
The SMMT attributed the decline mainly to planned maintenance and retooling of factories, which usually takes place in August.
The figures for August 2024 were similarly suppressed, albeit 10% higher than this year, largely because production of Jaguar cars and the previous-generation Nissan Leaf was still under way.
August’s figures ended a two-month period of growth for the automotive industry. It may have been expected to return to that trajectory after the summer shutdown, but that won’t be the case, as JLR isn’t producing any cars this month.
The company – which the SMMT notes is the UK’s biggest automotive employer – halted all production on 1 September as it scrambled to deal with a significant cyber attack and has yet to resume operations.
JLR had planned to resume production yesterday (24 September) but has pushed back the planned restart to 1 October, meaning the UK’s car output will be much lower than is usual for September.
The SMMT said last week that the JLR cyber attack was “having a significant impact on JLR and on the wider automotive supply chain”.
It added that the UK government was working with the company to restore operations.
It’s estimated that JLR is losing some 1000 cars and £5 million per day, as its production lines in the UK, China, India and Slovakia remain idle.
The SMMT said production for the domestic market rose 11.5% to 7162 cars, but that wasn’t enough to offset a significant 14.2% drop in exports, which accounted for the vast majority (80.7%) of UK-built cars.
Meanwhile, the UK built 40.9% more electrified cars (hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs), meaning they accounted for nearly half of all cars built.
SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said: “August is always a low-volume month, due to planned summer maintenance, but the focus is now on September’s performance and the likely impact of the cyber attack at Britain’s biggest automotive employer.
