UK car output logs fourth consecutive monthly fall in June, data shows

FILE PHOTO: New Land Rover cars are seen in a parking lot at the Jaguar Land Rover plant at Halewood in Liverpool, northern England.·Reuters
Reuters
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(Reuters) - UK's car output fell for the fourth consecutive month in June, as more manufacturers wound down old models and transitioned towards electric vehicles, industry data showed on Thursday.

A total of 62,231 cars rolled off production lines in June, down 26.6% from a year earlier, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

For the first six months of 2024, EV production, which constitutes over a third of the total output, fell 7.6% to 157,224 units compared with the same period in 2023. Total car output was down at the same level.

"The new government's commitments to gigafactories, a decarbonised energy supply and a faster planning system will help boost our competitiveness," SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said.

"Amid fierce global competition, however, industry and government must work quickly to deliver those commitments, creating an industrial strategy that enables the growth the economy craves," Hawes added.

Auto giants Nissan and Tata Motors have laid out plans to invest several billion pounds in EV production at their UK plants, helping the auto industry gain foreign investment and in reaching its net zero emissions target.

The body said it expects annual car output to be around 910,000 units, down 9.3% year-on-year as the country transitions towards EV vehicles.

(Reporting by Prerna Bedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)