UK car output falls 18% in October amid Covid-19

[LONDON] British car production slumped by an annual 18.2 per cent in October as the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown measures continue to hit demand, a trade industry body said on Thursday.

A total of 110,179 cars rolled off assembly lines last month leaving output in the first 10 months of the year down a third at 743,003 vehicles, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Britain's automotive sector is also awaiting clarity on the trading terms it will have with its biggest export market, the European Union, and faces a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030.

"These figures are yet more bad news for an industry battered by Covid-19, Brexit and, now, the unprecedented challenge of a complete shift to electrified vehicles in under a decade,"said SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes.

REUTERS