UK Profile
The UK provides a manufacturing base for volume car producers BMW (MINI), Ford (including Jaguar and Land Rover), Honda, Nissan, Toyota and GM (Vauxhall) as well as a range of smaller producers serving specialist markets such as sports and luxury cars, and London taxis.
2006 vehicle production remained strong despite the closure of Peugeot Ryton, and 2007 output is expected to exceed 2006 figures.
The principal factors in this are:
- Substantial investment at Toyota's Burnaston plant, which now exports Avensis cars to Japan
- Strong sales of the new Nissan Qashqai
- Expanded production at Honda's Swindon facility
- Record Land Rover sales, made at Solihull and Halewood
- Strong demand for UK-made commercial vehicles
The sole volume truck manufacturer is Leyland Trucks in Lancashire. Medium-sized vans are manufactured by LDV at Birmingham, Ford (Transit) at Southampton and by the IBC plant in Luton, which produces a joint-venture project for GM (Vauxhall), Renault and Nissan. The main UK bus manufacturers are Optare, and Alexander Dennis, which has taken over the bus manufacturing operations of TransBus. There are also a number of successful niche and specialist vehicle manufacturers, plus a strong trailer and vehicle body building sector.
The UK also has a strong tradition in the off-road sector, including earthmoving machinery and construction equipment and a number of the world ‘s leading OEMs such as JCB, Caterpillar, Komatsu and Terex manufacture here.
In 2006, 1.4 million cars and 208,000 commercial vehicles were produced in the UK. Of these over 77% of the cars and 66% of the commercial vehicles were exported to a variety of markets around the world.
The automotive components manufacturing sector is a major part of the UK motor industry, comprising at least 2,600 firms with an annual added value of £4.5 billion and employing an estimated 115,000 people. The sector includes many major multi national firms and a large number of SMEs, many of which also supply other sectors.
The UK is an increasing force in engine production thanks to major recent investments. Significant new engine facilities are in the process of ramping up - BMW's Hams Hall facility, for example, which started production in January 2001, produces all of BMW's four-cylinder petrol engines between 1.6 and 2.0 litres capacity for export to the company's vehicle plants in Germany, South Africa and the United States, and makes the engine for the latest generation MINI (replacing an engine made in Brazil). Ford source 25% of their global engine supply from the UK, following expansion of the Bridgend and Dagenham facilities. In the off-road sector JCB, the construction equipment manufacturer, has invested over £80m in the development and production of a new range of 4 litre diesel engines at a dedicated plant in Derbyshire The UK automotive engine industry currently produces an estimated 3 million units a year. This represents substantial, and growing, net exports. The growth in engine production for export is an example of the status of the automotive industry in the UK as an integral part of the global industry.
The UK is also a centre for design engineering with companies such as Ford, Ricardo, Millbrook, Lotus, MIRA, Prodrive and Mahle. Together with the design schools at Coventry University and the Royal College of Art in London, these firms have the capability to design and develop all aspects of a vehicle with particular strengths in engines, gearboxes, and advanced materials. Ford in particular have extensive research and development activities in UK including vehicle and engine design. Prodrive and Cosworth have their roots in the UK motorsport sector, which is believed to command some 80 per cent of the global motorsport market. The UK motorsport industry has an estimated annual turnover of £4.6 billion and directly employs 38,000 people, of who 25,000 are engineering and technical staff.
The off-road sector directly contributes an additional 10,000 manufacturing jobs to the UK economy, including companies such as JCB and Caterpillar. Much of the supply chain is shared with the automotive sector, adding to the economic value of this sector.
In addition the UK has a thriving retail and motor trade sector, employing over 550,000 people in 66,000 businesses and generating over £21bn value added to the UK economy.
Cars
