UK car-manufacturing numbers fell through the floor in the last month or so. In June, the 27-per cent plunge (vs June ’23) was debilitating and, frankly, unsustainable for the British automotive business.
But the disappointing numbers are explained away by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. All this was “expected” and “caused by multiple model changes” as “factories repurpose,” it stated. Also, don’t forget: “Manufacturers are retooling production lines to make electrified models.”
Fair enough. But everything from model changes to retooling and repurposing in the short term aren’t the major, long-term problems. Bigger dilemmas by far go like this: we have to accept and deal with the fact that the usual suspects – Japan, Germany, South Korea, Spain, USA and France, in that order – already build more cars than us and will almost certainly continue to do so. But more importantly, the huge, comparatively new kids on the block – China in particular, but India too – are also giving us a comprehensive kicking on the car-production front. As are Brazil, the Czech Republic, Indonesia and Slovakia. And the unlikeliest of suspects – Iran and Turkey – are beating Blighty, too.
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Putting China and India aside, I consider Germany, Japan and South Korea among the most respected, successful, established and tried and tested car producers. The priority for their domestic makers is mass production of non-premium and premium cars. Why? Because that’s where hundreds of thousands of jobs, tens of millions of sales, and billions of profits come from.