Car production in the UK slipped to a 13-year low in February, with outputs down 41 per cent on the same month a year ago.
The latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that only 61,657 motors left assembly lines last month, down from 105,008 recorded in February 2021.
The chip drought continues to be a major toll on the sector, with the Mini Oxford plant forced to shut down for five days in February due to a lack of semiconductors to go into its cars.
Parts supply issues have also resulted on the back conflict in Ukraine has also limited the availability of other vehicle components, the trade body said on Friday.
February slump in car making: UK production slipped to a 13-year low with outputs limited by semiconductor shortages and supply chain issues as a result of the conflict in Ukraine
The SMMT confirmed it is an eighth consecutive month of declining outputs and the lowest in February since 2009.
Such a significant year-on-year decline of more than two fifths can be partly attributed to the closure of the Honda factory in Swindon at the end of July last year, with tens of thousands of Civic models now wiped from records.
In the Wiltshire plant’s last full year of production before closing, Honda was the UK’s fifth biggest car in the UK behind Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Mini and Toyota.
Despite the overall decline, UK production of electrified cars continued at pace.
Battery-electric, plug-in hybrid and conventional hybrid models accounted for a quarter (26 per cent) of all vehicles produced in February.
Earlier this week the SMMT said Britain’s ‘first electric decade’ had seen the auto industry pump a massive £10.8billion of investment into the country’s electric revolution, with huge funding made to ramp up both vehicle and battery production.
![The latest figures from the SMMT show that only 61,657 motors left assembly lines last month, down from 105,008 recorded in February 2021](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/25/11/55792787-10651761-image-a-18_1648208004778.jpg)
The latest figures from the SMMT show that only 61,657 motors left assembly lines last month, down from 105,008 recorded in February 2021
![A 41% year-on-year decline in production is partly attributed to the closure of the Honda factory in Swindon last July. Tens of thousands of Civic were built there each year](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/25/11/55792673-10651761-image-a-20_1648208133323.jpg)
A 41% year-on-year decline in production is partly attributed to the closure of the Honda factory in Swindon last July. Tens of thousands of Civic were built there each year
![In the Wiltshire plant's last full year of production before closing, Honda was the UK's fifth biggest car in the UK behind Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Mini and Toyota](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/25/11/55792675-10651761-image-a-17_1648207992418.jpg)
In the Wiltshire plant’s last full year of production before closing, Honda was the UK’s fifth biggest car in the UK behind Jaguar Land Rover, Nissan, Mini and Toyota
The February drop in outputs hasn’t impacted the proportion of cars that are built for the British market and overseas, with exports still accounting for four in five models produced last month.
However, February’s figures were affected by the Russian state’s invasion of Ukraine that month.
Although, in 2021, Russia took just 1.1 per cent of UK car exports and Ukraine just 0.5 per cent, many critical raw materials, parts and components, including aluminium, palladium and nickel, which is used in battery manufacturing, and wiring harnesses, are sourced from the region.
The sanctions imposed are supported by the industry but raise additional challenges to the sector in the medium to long-term.
This has added to the ‘already tough economic climate’ and ongoing short supply of semiconductor chips, which has restricted the sector since the start of the pandemic, car bosses said.
![The drop in outputs hasn't impacted the proportion of cars that are built for the British market and overseas, with exports still accounting for four in five models produced last month](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/25/11/55792789-10651761-image-a-19_1648208014973.jpg)
The drop in outputs hasn’t impacted the proportion of cars that are built for the British market and overseas, with exports still accounting for four in five models produced last month
![BMW paused production of Minis at the Plant Oxford site for a five-day period from 21 to 25 February due to not having access to enough semiconductor chips](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/25/11/55792667-10651761-image-a-14_1648207951394.jpg)
BMW paused production of Minis at the Plant Oxford site for a five-day period from 21 to 25 February due to not having access to enough semiconductor chips
![BMW closed the Cowley factory again this month for the same reason, with the shutdown running from 7 to 18 March](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/03/25/11/55792665-10651761-It_closed_the_Cowley_factory_again_weeks_later_with_the_shutdown-a-21_1648208467309.jpg)
BMW closed the Cowley factory again this month for the same reason, with the shutdown running from 7 to 18 March
BMW was forced to pause production of Minis at the Plant Oxford site for a five-day period from 21 to 25 February as a consequence of not having access to enough semiconductor chips to keep assembly lines running at maximum capacity.
It closed the Cowley factory again weeks later, with the shutdown running from 7 to 18 March, which will be felt in the production figures for this month.
British car production in 2021 sank to the lowest since 1956, due to the growing impact of semiconductor shortages, and is half its level of five years ago.
‘The automotive industry is undergoing its most radical transformation in more than a hundred years, but manufacturers are simultaneously facing the most extreme operating conditions as global economic headwinds drive up costs and constrain supply, explained SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.
‘The sector entered 2022 hopeful for recovery, but that recovery has not yet begun, and urgent action is now needed to help mitigate spiralling energy costs and ensure the sector remains globally competitive.’
Jim Holder, editorial director, What Car?, said that while there had been ‘very small signs’ of a pandemic recovery for the car industry, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine means the chances of any long-term respite from bad news ‘is slim’.
‘The war in Ukraine has thrown another curveball into the mix that threatens to derail any hoped-for recovery and which will hit almost all new car buyers hard in the pocket,’ he said.
‘At the very least, rising material and energy costs look set to add significant cost to cars. However, for some car makers – especially German ones – the problems are even worse as a result of relying on parts that were made in Ukraine.
‘This has already led to factory closures – delaying orders while alternative, potentially more expensive, suppliers are found.’
Mr Holder says car makers are left with little choice but to prioritise the build of their most profitable models, in order to maximise their income, and green vehicles, to ensure their average emissions do not breach regulations and incur heavy fines – both of which have a serious knock-on impact for consumers.
‘This leaves buyers either having to opt to buy a pricier car or join a queue waiting for their preferred model to be built – some of which are more than 12 months long,’ he said.
‘What’s more, as demand is significantly outstripping supply, the room to haggle and secure a discount is lower than it has been for many years – again hitting buyers in the pocket.’
While passenger car production dropped, outputs of commercial vehicles grew 92 per cent last month, with 8,278 vans, trucks, taxis, buses and coaches rolling out of British factories.
This is compared, however, with the worst February on record last year, when supply chain shortages, new customs processes and prolonged lockdown measures posed significant challenges to production, the SMMT made clear.
This February’s performance is still 10 per cent down on the 9,233 units built in pre-pandemic 2019.
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