UK commercial vehicle production soared 16.8% in November, marking the best performance for the month since 2007.
A total of 13,253 vans, buses, trucks, coaches and taxis rolled off plant lines in the ninth month of growth in 2023, according to the new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
The November total is 51.1% up on 2019’s pre-pandemic level. Orders for UK buyers rose 13.4% to 3,802 units while overseas demand was up 18.3% to 9,451 units with 71.3% of output shipped abroad. The EU again retained its status as the most important overseas market for CV exports, taking 96.3% of all vehicles leaving the UK.
Year-to-date output surged 15.5% to 111,863 units – the best for the January-November period since 2010 and due in part to new production facilities coming on stream. Exports were up 21.0% to 71,679 units while production for domestic buyers rose by a more modest 6.8% to 40,184 units, pushing overall production more than 10,000 units up on full year 2022 – with December’s figures still to come.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “UK CV production is on track to record its best year in more than a decade, testament to the competitiveness of automotive manufacturing in this country. Fresh investment to make the latest, zero emission vans here has helped boost volumes of vehicles that are increasingly in demand from fleet operators across Europe. The industry can look forward with renewed optimism, especially with a deal to extend the current EU-UK trade rules for EVs and batteries now agreed.”
