UK vehicle production fell 11.6% in July to 63,655 units, driven by weaker exports and summer shutdown timings.

Car production dropped 10.6% while CV output declined 34.4%, the new figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reveal.

The decline reflects weaker exports, down 15.9% overall to 47,377 units. For cars, a 9.3% rise in output for UK buyers failed to offset a 15.8% fall in exports. Commercial vehicle deliveries to UK customers and export markets were down 49.6% and 18.5% respectively.

The SMMT said the production drop also stemmed from earlier scheduling of routine summer maintenance shutdowns at some plants.

Electrified model production bucked the downward trend. Output of fully electric and hybrid models recorded the first monthly increase of the year, up 6.8% to 25,678 units. Electrified models accounted for more than four in 10 cars built in July, up from around three in 10 a year ago.

Year to date, UK factories have turned out just under 450,000 cars and CVs, down 8.1% on the same period in 2025, reflecting model changeovers, the closure of the Vauxhall Luton plant in 2025, and continued trade and investment uncertainty. Even so, the latest independent forecast expects UK car and light vehicle output to remain broadly stable in 2026, at 740,000 units, before growth resumes in 2027.

The SMMT called for a range of measures to help put output on track for one million units by the turn of the decade.

This includes “meaningful reform” on EV sales quotas under the recently announced ZEV mandate review. The business group has called for changes that “with stronger market enablers, would help reduce the high cost of selling EVs in the UK, which is currently a major deterrent for global investors”.

The SMMT also wants action on energy costs and said the Government must address the double threat to UK-EU automotive trade posed by the European Commission’s ‘Made in the EU’ proposals, which could make UK-produced vehicles uncompetitive in European markets, as well as the tougher rules of origin requirements under the EU–UK TCA – the Brexit deal. These take full effect in January and set strict local-content thresholds for electric vehicles (EVs) and battery packs.

Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “The rise in electrified vehicle production is encouraging, but long-term success depends on making the UK a more competitive place to make and sell vehicles. Meaningful and urgent reform of the ZEV mandate, reduction of the UK’s sky-high energy costs and negotiations to safeguard free and fair trade with our largest and closest export market are essential to put UK automotive manufacturing back on a path to growth.”

Close Brothers Motor Finance said July’s fall in UK vehicle manufacturing was another reminder of the uncertainty facing the automotive sector, but noted that new car registrations were up by 11.7% in July.

John Cassidy, managing director, stated: “This continued momentum suggests that weaker manufacturing isn’t evidence of consumers stepping away from cars, but more accurately observed as a period of adjustment for the motor industry.”