Production of cars moves up a gear

A total of 128,873 cars were made in the UK in July – a 7 per cent rise on the July 2012 figure, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said.

Last month’s total took the year-so-far figure to 893,263 – a 1.9 per cent increase on January-July last year.

Commercial vehicle (CV) production in July reached 7,942 – an 11.8 per cent dip on July 2012. CV production for the year so far has totalled 56,459 – a 13.3 per cent fall on the first seven months of last year.

Engine production last month rose 26.4 per cent to 232,545 and is up 2.1 per cent for the year so far at just over 1.55 million.

SMMT interim chief executive Mike Baunton said: “Car manufacturing is continuing to follow the wider UK trend for more positive economic growth.

“We are starting to see slight signs of recovery from Europe which will support stronger production levels this year, and UK manufacturers will continue to build and develop innovative, high-quality products.”