Production fell by 29.3 percent last year
The coronavirus pandemic and Brexit took a heavy toll on the UK automotive industry in 2020. Production fell by 29.3 percent compared to the previous year, as the industry association SMMT (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) announced on Thursday. Around 920,000 vehicles rolled off the assembly line in the United Kingdom in 2020. That is the lowest value since 1984.
The sharp decline is largely due to the global decrease in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, said SMMT boss Mike Hawes at an online press conference. The British automotive industry is heavily dependent on export. More than 80 percent of the cars manufactured in the country go abroad, over half of them to the EU.
Exports to EU member states plummeted by more than 30 percent. Exports to the USA were similarly steep. By contrast, more was exported to China, South Korea and Taiwan, the countries less affected by the pandemic than in the previous year.
Many factories stood still for several weeks last spring. Several manufacturers also extended their factory holidays to the turn of the year in order to cushion the difficulties caused by the changes in trade with the EU after the end of the Brexit transition phase.
