CV production suffers August slump
UK commercial vehicle production declined 11.5% in August. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) reported that 4,915 commercial vehicles rolled off production lines.
Production for the domestic market grew 22.3%, while demand from key markets such as Europe, the Americas and Asia fell, decreasing exports by 29.6% and bringing the overall share of vehicles built for overseas customers down to 51.8%.
Year-to-date performance is now down by 20% year on year in the first eight months.
Mike Hawes, SMMT chief executive, said: “Commercial vehicle manufacturers are facing multiple challenges as a second wave of coronavirus results in tighter restrictions on their own operations and those of their customers. We welcome yesterday’s introduction of a job support scheme and await more detail on how it will work for these businesses that have been so reliant on the current furlough scheme.
“However, we also still need immediate measures for suffering bus and coach manufacturers and their supply chains as we head into a difficult winter with no long-term solution in sight for plummeting ridership numbers. More broadly, with the looming end to the Brexit transition period, the sector faces the prospect of even greater strain on its tentative restart.”
