Demand for engines to power UK models has kept the factories going despite a fall in exports of complete units for overseas vehicle assembly plants.
Figures from the SMMT show a 23% dip in units sent abroad out of the 172,533 made but a 28.6% rise in those going into UK vehicle assembly plants and the figure so far this year is steady and about 5.7% up at 1.5 Million engines.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said, “July’s acceleration in UK demand for British-built engines – the result of significant recent investment in new plants and models – is good news, and offsets the sharp downturn in manufacturing for export to keep the overall sector in growth for the year-to-date. However, overseas demand still accounts for more than half of engine production, underlining the importance of securing competitive international trading conditions in the months and years ahead.”
UK commercial vehicle (CV) manufacturing fell -5.2% in July, according to the SMMT) The decline follows a remarkably strong performance in July 2015 when production rose by almost 50%.
Last month a substantial rise in overseas demand saw production for export increase by 14.1%, compensating for a -21.3% decline in domestic custom.
Overseas output in the year-to-date remains ahead, up 4.4% on the same period in 2015, with more than half (52.6%) of UK-built CVs destined for international markets.
