Production is 18.3 per cent higher than it was in the heights of the pandemic, but is 28.7 per cent below 2019’s pre-pandemic manufacturing levels. Notably, production plummeted last month, which saw the production of 53,500 cars: a fall of 37.6 per cent on the same month last year. The industry group said that this is the worst July performance since 1956 when 51,472 cars were produced.
Summer factory shutdowns also impacted production, which fell by 38 per cent for the UK market (8,233) while manufacturing for export fell 37.2 per cent (45,205). Exports accounted for more than eight in 10 vehicles built in July.
The SMMT cited staff shortages due to the high volume of people requested to go into self-isolation (being 'pinged'), which has forced some factories to shift their summer shutdown timetables. It also pointed to the ongoing global shortage in semiconductors as a cause for concern.
The chip shortage has forced Ford, Jaguar Land Rover...