• Car production rose 4.5% in first 11 months of year to 1,424,023 units.
• 2013 output set to pass 1.5 million units for first time in six years.
• Preparation for new model production at several UK sites saw November output dip 3.6%.

“With output up 4.5% in 2013 to-date, UK car manufacturing is on track to pass 1.5 million units this year, the best performance since 2007,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. “A number of mass-market manufacturers have this year used November to prepare their production lines for new models, so volumes dropped 3.6% in the month. However, the forthcoming new models will play an integral part in what is predicted to be an even stronger 2014 for UK car manufacturing.”

CV output falls again in November

• Commercial vehicle (CV) output fell 35.7% in November to 7,061 units.
• CV production over the first 11 months of the year down 21.5% to 82,535 units.
• Total CV manufacturing volumes expected to remain subdued until mid-2014.

“Ongoing weak European demand and changes to UK manufacturing operations impacted commercial vehicle production in November,” said Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive. “While we expect the downward trend to continue for a few months yet, CV manufacturing in the UK has a solid base from which to build with more than 200 vans, trucks and buses rolling off domestic production lines every day.”

Exports fuel strong month for engine production

• Engine manufacturing rose for a third successive month in November, up 3.4% to 231,371 units.
• Output up 2.5% over the year-to-date to 2,404,146 units.
• November rise driven by exports; robust home market performance over year-to-date.

Click through to download the full UK automotive manufacturing news release for November 2013.

If you use these figures in online editorial, please reference www.smmt.co.uk/vehicle-data/ as the source.