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UK car production plummeted by nearly a quarter in October, with output down 23.8% compared to the same month last year.
Just 59,010 units left factory gates, contributing to a total vehicle production fall of 30.9%, the lowest October total since 1956.
The slump occurred despite Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the country’s largest automotive employer, beginning its phased restart of operations.
The figures show the UK market is still reeling from the aftermath of JLR’s cyber incident, which forced an extensive five-week production halt that began in September.
The weeks-long outage has been described as the most expensive cyber-attack in British history, carrying an estimated £1.9 billion bill.
Though JLR began some manufacturing on October 8th, the phased recovery was insufficient to offset the overall market decline. This follows September’s figures, which saw UK car production crash to a 73-year low.
Despite the difficult headlines, a shift toward green manufacturing offers a bright spot. Nearly half of the cars produced in October (46.2%) were electric, plug-in hybrid, or hybrid models, a 10.4% increase year-on-year. However, the domestic market fell 10.6%, and output for exports, which accounts for three-quarters of all production, declined by 27.1%.
Optimism remains for the future. The latest independent outlook anticipates a return to growth in 2026, projecting 828,000 cars and vans to be made next year, driven by new electric models entering production. The sector believes output could potentially reach 1 million units by the end of the decade.
Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, summarized the challenging landscape, stating:
“Another difficult month for UK vehicle production as the impact of the earlier cyber attack continued to be felt.”
He welcomed recent Budget announcements, including a further £1.5 billion in automotive transformation funding. However, Hawes issued a stern warning about road taxation:
“Investment competitiveness also depends on a healthy domestic market,… but introducing a new pay-per-mile EV tax (eVED) is the wrong measure at the wrong time.”
“This new tax will undermine demand, so government must work with industry to reduce the cost of compliance and protect the UK’s investment appeal,” he concluded.
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