UK car manufacturing fell sharply last month, with new figures showing a significant drop in output as Jaguar Land Rover continued recovering from a major cyber attack.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), total production in October fell by 23.8% compared with the same month last year.
Just over 59,000 vehicles left UK factories – 18,474 fewer than in October 2023 – as JLR, the country’s largest automotive employer, began its phased restart of operations after a cyber incident forced it to halt production temporarily.
Despite the decline, the shift towards electrification continued, with almost half of all cars built in October being battery electric, plug-in hybrid or hybrid models.
Production for the UK market dropped by 10.6% to 13,785 units. Meanwhile, vehicles built for export declined by 27.1%. A total of 45,225 cars were produced for overseas buyers, representing more than three-quarters of all output.
The EU, US, Turkey, China and Japan remained the top export destinations. Exports to the EU, US and Japan all decreased, while shipments to Turkey and China rose.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the SMMT, said it had been “another difficult month for UK vehicle production as the impact of the earlier cyber attack continued to be felt.” He noted that growth should return soon, highlighting that the government has recognised the automotive sector as “a pillar of national strategic importance” and has backed it with an industrial strategy and £1.5bn to increase competitiveness.
However, Hawes warned that investment also depends on strong UK demand, especially for electric vehicles. He said “introducing a new electric vehicle excise duty is the wrong measure at the wrong time,” adding that “this new tax will undermine demand, so Government must work with industry to reduce the cost of compliance and protect the UK’s investment appeal.”
