UK new car production rose nearly 1,000% year-on-year last month, but lingering Covid-19 and supply issues continue to constrain production.
Some 54,962 cars were built in May, according to new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which is an increase of 934.3% from the 5,314 produced last May, when auto factories were starting. hardly to reopen after the first confinement.
The professional body also notes that last month’s figures were down 52.6% from the 116,035 units produced in May 2019, before the pandemic, reflecting the lingering impact of Covid-19 and the global shortage of semi – conductors – which forced several lines to stop production – on the automotive industry.
For the year to date, the UK produced 429,826 new cars, up over 100,000 units on this point last year, but down 22.9% from the first five months of 2019. The SMMT reports that May’s production rates were 58% lower than the five-year average.
Some 19.2% of all cars produced were either battery electric or hybrid, and so far this year a fifth of new cars built in the UK have been fitted with an alternative fuel transmission. Battery-powered electric vehicles represent 6.1% of the market, or the equivalent of one in 16 new cars.
Mike Hawes, Managing Director of SMMT, said: “The numbers for May continue to look inflated from the near total shutdown of production lines last year. However, the resumption of automobile production is still being massively challenged here and abroad by global supply shortages, in particular of semiconductors. .
“If the UK is to remain competitive it must therefore ensure that it has an overall attractive policy framework for vehicle production and the supply chain.
“Accelerating the production of zero-emission cars is part of this program. So even though one in five models manufactured here this year are powered by an alternative power supply, we need to invest in R&D, charging infrastructure and the market to ensure that we can deliver a net zero future. the company asks.
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Source: www.autocar.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-24 23:19:12
