UK vehicle production fell again in January as the sector faced – and continues to face – an array of global headwinds.

These challenges are the result of softening demand for cars in key export markets, which has led manufacturers to slow new model rollouts and instead focus efforts on retooling factories for new-age EVs, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

As such, just 78,012 vehicles – both commercial (CV) and passenger – rolled off production lines in the first month of the year. This is down 17.7% on January 2024, when 94,811 vehicles were produced.

Of the 78,012 vehicles produced, 71,104 were cars (down 14.3% year on year) and just 6908 were CVs (down a massive 41.5%).

The SMMT said these figures are in part due to a strong January 2024, when car and commercial output surged by 21.0% and 27.5% respectively. That month was also the CV sector's best since 2008.

As ever, foreign markets were the main destination for UK-made vehicles. In January, 78.7% (61,399) were exported, down 13.4% on last year. According to the SMMT, this decline was because of weakened global markets, such as the EU and China.

In terms of passenger cars, of which 80.4% (57,140) went overseas, exports to the EU and China were down 11.2% and 46.3% respectively. Despite this, exports to the US, Turkey and Japan all rose, up 12.4%, 36.9% and 8.1%. For CVs, export numbers dropped 46.6% to 4259.

UK market-bound vehicle numbers fell 30.5% to 16,613, of which 13,964 were cars (down 30.4%) and 2649 were CVs (down 31.1%).

In a bid to boost export numbers, the SMMT has called on the government to release £2 billion of already promised investment via the Automotive Transformation Fund.

Doing so, it said, “would help shore up the competitiveness of the UK’s largest exporter of manufactured goods, a sector with the potential to deliver £50 billion in UK growth over the coming decade”.

SMMT CEO Mike Hawes added that releasing these funds would “help ensure our competitiveness and safeguard the billions of pounds of investment, jobs and economic growth which is now at stake”.