Overview

• UK output fell 15.8% in April to 59,203 units, marking the weakest April total since 1952 excluding the 2020 lockdown
• Car production dropped 8.6% year-on-year while commercial vehicle output slumped 68.6% amid model changeovers
• Stellantis’s closure of the Vauxhall van plant in Luton and consolidation at Ellesmere Port sharpened the downturn in van manufacturing
• Car exports declined 10.1% and commercial vehicle exports plunged 75.8%, even as shipments to China and Turkey rose
• Mike Hawes of the SMMT urged the government to adopt a long-term industrial strategy to restore competitiveness following recent trade negotiations