UK vehicle production falls as industry readies for EV transition

British vehicle production fell by almost 12% last year and is set to fall further this year – but industry chiefs insist it's a short-term issue caused by factories retooling to build new EVs. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has reported that 905,233 vehicles were produced in the UK in 2024, comprising 779,584 cars and 125,649 commercial vehicles. This represents a 14% fall in car production and a 4% rise in commercial vehicle production, resulting in that 12% overall decrease. It's the lowest number of cars made annually in the UK since 1954, excluding 2020, an anomaly as a result of the Covid pandemic. Nor is the outlook for 2025 any rosier. In fact, production volume is predicted to fall further to 839,000 as manufacturers continue to transform factories for EV production. However, SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes told Autocar that he expected the 2026 figure to increase above that from 2024, with the large-scale transition due to be complete by then and many more models running off the production lines. He said there is potential for the UK to get back above one million units in 2028 but this is dependent on “global demand improving, positive economic conditions and greater consumer confidence”. JLR bucks negative trend In 2024, the numbers of vehicles built by Bentley, Nissan, Mini and Toyota all fell. JLR stands out as the only maker whose production rose, by 8%. This was fuelled by the success of Range Rover, given that JLR ceased all Jaguar production during the year. Figures for smaller brands, including Aston Martin, Lotus, McLaren and Rolls-Royce, aren't listed individually in the published SMMT figures. Nearly eight in 10 UK-made cars were exported, with more than half of those (54%) going to Europe, 16.9% to the US and 6.6% to China. Hawes commented: “Amid significant geopolitical and trade tensions, UK manufacturers are set on turning billions of pounds of investment into production reality, transforming factories to make new electric vehicles for sale around the world. “Growing pains are inevitable, so the drop in volumes last year is not surprising. With new models and battery production on the horizon, the potential for growth is clear. "Securing this future requires industrial and trade strategies that deliver the competitive conditions essential for growth amidst an increasingly protectionist global environment.” Mini, whose volume fell by 40% as a result of it no longer building the electric version of its hatchback at Oxford, told Autocar that its volume was “as planned”. Bentley, whose volume dropped by 17%, said its “performance was slightly reduced against previous years, due to difficult market conditions and the result of lifecycle effects as we transition to new models recently introduced”. It added that it expected an uplift at Crewe in 2025. The EV struggle Of those vehicles built in the UK in 2024, a third were electrified, down 20% on the previous year. That fall is at odds with the UK’s zero-emission vehicle mandate, which requires manufacturers to sell 28% EVs in their model mix this year, up from 22% last year and rising to 80% by 2030. The ZEV mandate is currently the industry’s biggest headache, as it argues that there isn't sufficient consumer demand for it to meet the mandated proportions. The mandate is currently open to public consultation, but any decision is unlikely to be made in time to have a significant impact on the industry’s targets for this year. Hawes said he was hopeful that the result might be “some flexibility” on hybrids, amid uncertainty over exactly which types can be sold in the UK from 2030 to 2035. He also repeated calls for consumer incentives which are believed to be crucial to the uptake of EVs – namely that the 20% VAT levied on public charging instead matches the 5% on private charging and that the expensive car supplement, applied to any vehicle over £40,000, is either removed for EVs or the threshold significantly raised.

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UK vehicle production falls as industry readies for EV transition

Almost all UK car makers recorded a decline in production in 2024, leading to smallest total for 70 years

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UK vehicle production falls as industry readies for EV transition

Almost all UK car makers recorded a decline in production in 2024, leading to smallest total for 70 years

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