U.K. Car Production Tops 1 Million Year-to-Date

U.K. car manufacturing topped 1 million units year-to-date as September saw output climb 9.9% from like-2012 to 140,888.

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders data shows the monthly result raised the 9-month build 3.9% to 1,125,433 units.

SMMT CEO Mike Hawes says the September rise in car production demonstrates the sector is one of the region’s biggest success stories of recent years.

“This year alone, more than £2.6 billion ($4.2 billion) has been committed across the U.K. automotive sector, from the supply chain to global car-manufacturing brands,” he says in a statement.

Production for the home market rose 12.1% in September to 28,992 units, while exports increased 9.3% to 111,896.

At the end of the third quarter, the build for the U.K. market was up 23.9% to 240,939 units. Export demand remained in the red year-on-year, but the deficit was narrowing, down just 0.5% after nine months to 884,494.

Commercial-vehicle production tumbled 27.5% year-on-year in September to 6,963 units. The build for the home market fell 16.0% to 3,783, while the export market backslid 37.7% to 3,180.

This left the 9-month CV build down 17.9% to 67,609 units. Domestic production year-to-date declined 9.0% to 31,222, while output for the export market dropped 24.2% to 36,287.

Hawes says the slumping CV production was a result of continuing economic uncertainty in the European Union and automakers’ restructuring of U.K. operations.

Driven by export demand, September engine output rose 8.3% year-on-year to 230,743 units for a 9-month total up 1.2% to 1,904,629.

Production for the home market fell 36.6% to 80,934 units last month, but remained up 8.2% year-to-date to 758,925.

Exports surged 75.4% to 149,809 units last month, but were down 3.9% year-to-date to 1,145,704.