The UK made over a million cars last year

Grab the good news klaxon again: the UK made more than a million vehicles in 2023. According to numbers crunched by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), over 905,000 cars and more than 120,000 commercial vehicles were produced – showing growth of 17 per cent on 2022’s figures.

The trade body said challenges brought on by the pandemic and the global chip shortage had eased. This positivity, coupled with that £23.7 billion of electrification investment has helped drive growth, create jobs across the country and boosted electric vehicle production. So much so, EV production accounted for a whopping 38.3 per cent of the overall output.

SMMT tells us that Europe remains the UK’s biggest customer, taking 60.3 per cent of the exports. Unusually, Turkey steamed to become the fourth biggest customer, accepting an upswing of 223.8 per cent in exports.

Mike Hawes, SMMT boss, said: “Receding supply chain challenges, new model introductions and a massive £23.7 billion of investment put UK vehicle production firmly back on track in 2023. Industry will now focus on the delivery of these commitments, transitioning the sector at pace to electric and scaling up the supply chain.

"With global competition as fierce as it has ever been and amid escalating geopolitical tensions, both government and industry must remain singularly focused on competitiveness, with all the jobs and growth this will bring. We are in a much better position than a year ago, but the challenges are unrelenting.”