The output of UK vehicle manufacturing has reached its “nadir” after posting the worst start to a regular year since 1953.
Only in the Covid year of 2020 were fewer vehicles produced than the 417,232 in the first half of 2025, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Speaking at a briefing to announce the figures, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said factors such as tariffs from the key export market of the US, the closure of Stellantis’s Luton van factory and changeovers for crucial UK-made models meant that “the general view is that this is the real bottom of where we should be”.
