Overview

• Passenger car manufacturing rose 5.6% year on year in July to 69,127 units, marking a second consecutive monthly increase.
• Total UK vehicle output fell 10.8% to 72,006 as commercial-vehicle volumes dropped 81.1% to 2,879, which the SMMT attributed to plant restructuring and a strong comparison a year ago.
• Exports accounted for 79.4% of car output, with shipments rising to the US (+6.8% to nearly 10,000), Turkey (+35.4%) and Japan (+14.9%), while exports to the EU (-7.9%) and China (-7.1%) declined.
• Production for the UK market improved, with domestic car output up 13.6% in July.
• Total vehicle manufacturing is down 11.7% year to date to 489,238 units, and the SMMT projects a 6.4% light‑vehicle output rise in 2026 as the sector navigates weak confidence, volatile trade and major tech investment.