UK Car Manufacturing Grows 5.8% In 2011

2012 starts with good news for the British production industry. According to the BBC, the UK car manufacturing sector saw 5.8% growth in 2011.

Most of this growth was fuelled by unprecedented exports, as four in five newly made cars were intended for markets overseas, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) says.

In December 2011 car production rose by 1.6%, while the total number of cars made in the UK in 2011 reached 1,343,810. However, fewer people in the UK bought new cars in 2011, as sales fell by 4.4% on the domestic market, the SMMT announced.

There was also a rise in engine production over the past 12 months, with 2.5m being produced, up 4.9% on last year, although December saw a slight drop of 1.3%

Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT, thinks that the British car and engine production sector has proved its resilience and is pushing the national manufacturing industry ahead. He says that co-operation between the industry and the government is vital for the development and expansion of business.

Meanwhile, Nissan’s factory in Sunderland was the most productive in 2011, with 480,000 vehicles made, and Vauxhall’s Ellesmere Port and Land Rover’s plants in Solihull and Halewood also managed to produce more cars than last year. At the other end of the scale, Honda’s Swindon plant, Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich factory and Mini’s Oxford site all registered a drop in production in 2011.