According to the Association of Automobile Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), UK auto production fell 17.7% in January, with a total output of 78,012 units.
This decline is attributed to weakness in major markets including the EU, China and the UK, coupled with plan changes that affect production plans.
Production of battery-electric, plug-in hybrids and hybrids rose 1.5% to 30,028 units, accounting for 42.2% of all cars last month.
Despite this growth, overall automobile production for exports fell 9.2 per cent to 57,140 units, while production in the UK market fell 30.4 per cent to 13,964 units.
The EU remains the largest UK auto market, accounting for 52% of exports, followed by 18.6% with 6.2% in China, 3.5% in Türkiye and 3.4% in Japan.
Although exports to the EU and China fell 11.2% and 46.3%, respectively, goods to the United States, Türkiye and Japan increased by 12.4%, 36.9% and 8.1%.
The production of commercial vehicles (CVs) is also driven by export demand, accounting for 61.7% of the production of vans, trucks, taxis, buses and coaches in the UK, destined to be an overseas market.
However, exports fell 46.6% year-on-year, with 97.1% of vehicles heading to the EU. Domestic resume production fell 31.1% to 2,649 vehicles.
SMMT said the automotive sector is gradually reorganizing plants and is slow to launch new models in response to soft demand.
The trade body added that the industry is urging the government to prioritize the automotive industry in its upcoming industrial and trade strategies to support the domestic market and launch electric vehicles.
The rapid release of £2 billion promised by the government through the Automotive Transformation Fund is crucial to strengthening the competitiveness of the UK auto industry.
The industry has the potential to contribute £50 billion to UK growth over the next decade, highlighting the need for strategic support.
SMMT CEO Mike Hawes said: “British vehicle manufacturers are facing a perfect storm of global trade uncertainty, challenging manufacturing conditions and market transitions, which are harder than expected.
“The industry is doing everything it can to keep production plans on track, but the government needs to ensure that cars are at the heart of its upcoming industrial and trade strategy and invest the promised funds as soon as possible.
“Doing this will help ensure our competitiveness and maintain billions of pounds of investment, employment and economic growth that is under threat.”
According to the latest report from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, new car registrations in the EU fell 2.6% in January 2025, compared with the same month in the previous year, down 2.6% from the previous month.
