UK: The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) says UK car manufacturing in August grew by 16.2%. UK car-makers produced 91,282 vehicles during the period, up by 12,705 units on the year before. The third successive monthly gain pushed year-todate volumes up 3.1% to 984,545 units. The increase was said to be driven by domestic demand, although exports also rose.
Mike Hawes, CEO of SMMT, said: “Despite August typically being one of the year’s quietest months due to summer breaks, the past 12 months has been the most productive since late 2008.” By contrast, the SMMT fi gures show that the UK’s commercial vehicle (CV) output continued to fall, dropping by 51.5% in August to 3,694 units. Year-todate output was down 16.6% in the fi rst eight months of the year at 60,646 units.
Hawes said CV manufacturing had been “impacted by ongoing uncertainty in eurozone countries, model changes and restructuring of some domestic operations”.
The SMMT expects CV output to remain negative for the rest of 2013, although some sectors may benefit from recent increases in demand for UK-built trucks and buses.