UK car production fell to the lowest level in 66 years in 2022 as the crippling global shortage of semiconductors decimated manufacturing.
Output through the year was 9.8% down from 2021 and a worrying 40.5% lower than pre-pandemic 2019, when 1,303,135 units were produced compared to 775,014 last year.
This is according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which also found that output in December alone was down 17.9%.
However, factories did produce a record 234,066 battery electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and hybrid (HEV) electric vehicles, with combined volumes representing almost a third (30.2%) of all car production.
There was also good news in the commercial vehicle sector, where production grew 39.3% in 2022 to 101,600 vans, trucks, taxis, buses and coaches. This is despite a fall of 23.6% in December.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “These figures reflect just how tough 2022 was for UK car manufacturing, though we still made more electric vehicles than ever before – high value, cutting edge models, in demand around the world. The potential for this sector to deliver economic growth by building more of these zero emission models is self-evident, however, we must make the right decisions now.
“This means shaping a strategy to drive rapid upscaling of UK battery production and the shift to electric vehicles based on the UK automotive sector’s fundamental strengths – a highly skilled and flexible workforce, engineering excellence, technical innovation and productivity levels that are amongst the best in Europe.”
