The number of vehicles manufactured in the UK fell sharply last month, as tariffs and the timing of Easter hit production.
The 59,203 vehicles made was the lowest April output for more than 70 years, with the exception of 2020, when production effectively stopped during the Covid lockdown.
The Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said a wider change in the industry as it shifts from petrol cars to electric vehicles (EVs) had also temporarily reduced output.
However, new trade deals with the US, EU and India may help boost upcoming production, the industry group said.
The April figure was 16% lower than the same month last year, and 25% lower than March, when numbers were likely to have been boosted by manufacturers shipping more cars to the US before President Trump’s tariffs kicked in.
The fact that Easter fell in April this year, which meant there were fewer working days, was also a factor, the SMMT said.
The lowest April output before that – outside the pandemic – was back in 1952, when 53,517 vehicles were produced.
Car production for exports fells by 10.1%, said the SMMT, driven by falls in demand from the UK’s biggest export markets the US and EU.
The group said the total number of vehicles manufactured in the UK for the first four months of the year was the lowest since 2009.
The downward trend in production is similar in other countries, said Prof Peter Wells, director of the Centre for Automotive Industry Research at Cardiff University.
“There are concerns in Germany, Italy, France and Japan,” he told the .
“So I would emphasise that there is this bigger picture going on, and it’s not purely a UK phenomenon.”
However, some of the global pressures may be stronger in the UK, Prof Wells said, such as fewer trade barriers against Chinese imports compared to the EU and US.
The UK government’s change in policy over encouraging more manufacturing of EVs had also made planning more difficult for carmakers, he added.
In April, the UK announced plans to relax sales targets for EVs and reduce fines for cars that do not meet certain emissions standards.
In recent years, the UK has seen producers such as Honda and Ford shut down plants.
Last year, Stellantis – which makes Vauxhall, Citroen and Peugeot cars – warned it may have to halt UK production due to uncertainty over the government’s approach to EVs.
“What industry always wants is stability and clarity in policy, whether it’s tariffs or electrification or any other issue,” said Prof Wells.
“For me at least, it remains a volatile environment in that sense.”
