U.K. Car Production Hits 10-Year High in 2015

U.K. car manufacturing reached a 10-year high in 2015, rising 3.9% to 1,587,677 units – driven by record exports, up 2.7% year-on-year to 1,227,881.

Releasing the figures, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says production for the home front rose 8.1% to 359,796 units.

The trade group says there were challenges in the export market, with demand diving 37.5% in China and plunging 69.4% in Russia.

However, the economic recovery in Europe, the U.K.’s biggest trading partner, boosted demand for U.K.-built cars 11.3% in 2015 and now accounts for 57.5% of all car exports from the region.

In the U.S., demand was 26.5%, making it the U.K.’s biggest trading destination outside the European Union, ahead of China. Notable growth also was seen in Australia (up 53.7%), South Korea (up 55.2%), Turkey (up 41.1%) and Japan (up 35.4%).

Local consumer and business demand for U.K-made vehicles saw one in seven new cars registered in the region in 2015 made in Britain.

“Achieving these hard-fought-for results is down to vital investment in the sector, world class engineering and a committed and skilled U.K. workforce,” SMMT CEO Mike Hawes says in a statement.

British commercial-vehicle manufacturing rose 33.3% to 94,479 units.

Both U.K. and overseas demand saw significant boosts in 2015, each growing more than 31%. The home market rose 31.6% to 47,300 units and export orders rose 35.1% to 47,179.

Production of U.K.-built engines was driven by exports in 2015 with full-year output ending down 1.1% at 2,368,477.

Overseas demand rose 2.0% to 1,516,883 units to account for 64% of the build. Domestic production fell 6.1% to 851,594 units.

“While engine production remains steady in the UK, with figures down just 1% compared to average annual production since 2009, the continued growth of the export market underlines the importance of demand from overseas,” Hawes says.