UK automakers reached a 10-year production high as they managed to build more cars in 2015 than any year since 2005, when 1,595,697 vehicles were made.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) states that production increased 3.9 percent on 2014, with 1,587,677 units, a record number of cars, out of which 1,227,881 units left the UK for export, representing 77.3 percent of total production, up 2.7 percent compared to 2014.
China was a surprise market in 2015 for UK-made vehicles as demand fell by 37.5 percent and Russia did even worse, as export volumes declined 69.4 percent. On the other hand, Europe was UK’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 57.7 percent of all car exports, 11.3 percent up.
The United States became UK’s largest export destination, overtaking China, with 26.5 percent increase in demand. Notable growth was recorded in Australia, South Korea, Turkey and Japan and the home car market rose by 8.1 percent on the previous year, as one in seven new cars registered in the UK in 2015 was British-made.
Jaguar Land Rover was the leader in vehicle production in the UK last year, with 489,923 units put together in Castle Bromwich, Halewood and Solihull, up 9.0 percent over 2014, followed by Nissan, with 476,589 units produced in Sunderland, a 4.7 percent decrease. Full data is available below.
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