British Car Production Rises 12% in March

British car production returned to growth in March, boosted by increased demand in Europe. Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan and BMW help drive 12% rise in output in March as the resurgent industry targets decade-high output this year. European car sales rose 10 percent in March, the seventh consecutive monthly gain, as new models to replace aging vehicles and an economic rebound boosted demand. First-quarter sales in the EU and EFTA markets rose 8 percent to 3.35 million cars, according to industry association ACEA.

 

The growth marked “a significant step forward after a period of product changes at the start to the year”, according to Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, the UK car industry’s trade body.

 

“After several years in the doldrums, European demand for new cars is now picking up. This is a welcome boost for the UK’s volume manufacturers for whom Europe is the key market,” he said. UK car production could hit 1.6m cars this year, the highest since 2004, on an expected growth path to hit an all-time record of 2m cars by 2017, according to the SMMT. Car production makes up about 15% of the UK's overall manufacturing output in terms of value.

 

As new models are launched and investments realized, the sector remains on course for all-time record levels of output by 2017. Earlier this month, the SMMT said that sales of new cars had risen in March at their fastest pace for a decade. There were 464,824 new car registrations during the month, a rise of 17.7% on a year earlier. The industry has been helped by recovering demand in Europe, which accounts for about half of the UK's car exports.