UK Car Production Fell By 3.8% In September

Fears over a possible no-deal Brexit dampened demand in the UK, while exports fell 3.4%, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. Overall car output for the year to date plunged 15.6%, making it the weakest three quarters since 2011. SMMT added that British carmakers had spent £500m on no-deal Brexit measures.

"Another bitterly disappointing month reflects domestic and international market contraction," said SMMT's chief executive Mike Hawes.

"Most worrying of all, though, is the continued threat of a 'no-deal' Brexit, something which has caused international investment to stall and cost UK operations hundreds of millions of pounds, money that would have better been spent in meeting the technological challenges facing the global industry."

The trade body said that the latest car production figures, which compare output with the same month a year earlier, capped a 15-month period of decline for the sector. In addition to dealing with escalating international trade tensions and technological challenges, British carmakers also had to "divert huge resources" to prepare for the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, the SMMT said. Read more

The UK manufacturing industry continued its downward trend in September, with production falling 3.8%, according to the latest figures from the SMMT.