UK car output went down 1.2% to 127,385 in January, as manufacturers prepared for new models, but European sales are rising.
Outlook remains positive for 2015 with manufacturers set to realise £7 billion-worth investment in new products and facilities and many will be shown at next month’s Geneva motor show.
January 2015 output 16% higher than month’s mean performance from 2009 so there it’s still a busy time in factories.
“Vehicle manufacturers have invested heavily in the UK in recent years to bring new models and technology to our factories,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive.
“The slight dip in output in January is as a result of this investment as major UK car manufacturers begin production of new models. As production ramps up throughout the year, we expect to see the sector’s output increase.”
European new car registrations grew 6.7% this January, the 17th consecutive month of growth for the European car market. Since the start of 2015, European new car registrations have reached almost one million units, according to the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association.
This growth has been fuelled by car markets in Italy, Spain, the UK and France. January European registration figures have been inflated substantially by the Spanish market, which reported a 27.5% increase as a result of the country’s national scrappage scheme. The other leading markets, Italy, the UK, France and Germany demonstrated growth of 10.9%, 6.7%, 6.2% and 2.6% respectively.
An increase of 4.6% was also seen in the new European Union member states. Despite these positive results, Greece reported an 8.4% fall in new car registrations during the same period.
