Despite supply chain shocks and chip shortages casting long shadows, the UK car industry roared back to life in 2023, producing over 775,000 vehicles and marking its strongest performance since before the pandemic.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, UK car production reached 775,285 units, marking a 19.2% increase from 2022 and the highest output since 2019
- UK manufactured 904,127 cars and commercial vehicles combined in 2023, up 20.5% year-on-year
- Passenger car production in the UK for December 2023 was 66,854 units, a 39.9% increase compared to December 2022
- New car registrations in UK reached 1,903,356 in 2023, up 17.4% from 2022
- Battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations hit 381,970 in 2023, 16.5% market share
- December 2023 saw 136,463 new cars registered, down 16.1% YoY due to pre-ULEZ rush ending
- In 2023, UK automotive sector employed 183,000 directly, supporting 794,000 total jobs
- Automotive manufacturing jobs numbered 142,000 in 2023, up 2% YoY
- Women comprised 22% of UK automotive workforce in 2023, up from 18% in 2018
- UK car exports value reached £39.1 billion in 2023, up 15% YoY
- 728,628 cars exported from UK in 2023, 94% of production
- US was top export market with 152,000 cars in 2023, £10bn value
- UK automotive contributed £82 billion to GDP in 2022, 3.2% total
- Automotive GVA was £39 billion in manufacturing alone 2022
- Sector taxes paid £15.6 billion in 2022
UK car production grew robustly in 2023, though engine output fell significantly due to supply issues.
Economic Impact and Investments
- UK automotive contributed £82 billion to GDP in 2022, 3.2% total
- Automotive GVA was £39 billion in manufacturing alone 2022
- Sector taxes paid £15.6 billion in 2022
- £2.5 billion invested in UK plants in 2023 for EV transition
- Nissan committed £1 billion to Sunderland EV production by 2024
- JLR announced £15 billion EV investment plan to 2025
- R&D spend by UK automotive firms £5.2 billion in 2022
- £500 million government Advanced Propulsion Centre funding 2019-2023
- Automotive multiplier effect 3.9 jobs per direct job in 2023
- West Midlands automotive GVA £25 billion annually
- EV infrastructure investment £1.6 billion private sector 2023
- Battery gigafactory plans worth £4 billion by Nissan
- Sector output grew 8% to £71 billion in 2023 nominal terms
- £200 million Faraday Battery Challenge grants awarded 2023
- Automotive exports supported 260,000 jobs in 2023
- Inflation in automotive supply chain 12% in 2023
- £10 billion potential GDP loss without ZEV mandate, per 2023 analysis
- Switch to EVs could add £7 billion GVA by 2030
- £350 million from Automotive Transformation Fund 2021-2023
- Sector carbon footprint reduction target 50% by 2030 from 2018 base
- Investment in hydrogen tech £250 million public-private 2023
- Economic cost of 2022 shortages £6.5 billion lost output
Economic Impact and Investments Interpretation
Despite a painful £6.5 billion hangover from supply chain shortages, the UK car industry is soberly investing billions into an electric future, betting that its £82 billion economic engine can be retooled to power the next generation without stalling.
Employment
- In 2023, UK automotive sector employed 183,000 directly, supporting 794,000 total jobs
- Automotive manufacturing jobs numbered 142,000 in 2023, up 2% YoY
- Women comprised 22% of UK automotive workforce in 2023, up from 18% in 2018
- Average automotive engineer salary was £48,500 in 2023
- 25,000 new jobs created in EV supply chain by 2030 target, announced 2023
- Nissan Sunderland employs 6,000 directly, plus 30,000 in supply chain
- Jaguar Land Rover workforce stood at 38,000 UK employees in 2023
- Automotive apprenticeships reached 8,500 starts in 2022/23
- 15% of automotive jobs at risk from automation by 2030, per 2023 study
- West Midlands hosted 40% of UK automotive employment in 2023
- Average hours worked in automotive manufacturing 37.2 per week in 2023
- 4,000 redundancies announced in 2023 due to production halts
- Skills shortage affected 65% of automotive firms in 2023 survey
- EV battery training programs enrolled 2,500 workers in 2023
- Union membership in automotive sector 28% in 2023
- JLR invested £500m in UK skills by 2023, training 10,000 staff
- Automotive R&D staff numbered 12,000 in 2023, up 10%
- Zero-hours contracts in automotive 3% of workforce in 2023
- Regional disparity: North East automotive jobs density 1 in 50 vs national 1 in 200
- 2023 saw 1,200 hires into software roles for autonomous tech
- Labour turnover rate in UK automotive 9.2% in 2023
- Diversity: BAME workers 12% in automotive vs 14% national average 2023
Employment Interpretation
The UK's automotive engine is revving with promising job growth and EV investment, yet it sputters with a chronic skills shortage, gender imbalance, and automation fears, running on the strained but dedicated labour of a workforce whose geographic and demographic distribution remains stubbornly stuck in the slow lane.
Exports and Imports
- UK car exports value reached £39.1 billion in 2023, up 15% YoY
- 728,628 cars exported from UK in 2023, 94% of production
- US was top export market with 152,000 cars in 2023, £10bn value
- EU exports totaled 452,000 cars worth £22bn in 2023 despite Brexit
- China imported 25,000 UK luxury cars in 2023, up 30%
- Car imports to UK numbered 1.12 million units in 2023, 59% market share
- Germany supplied 28% of UK car imports (310,000 units) in 2023
- Trade surplus in cars £4.2 billion in 2023
- Post-Brexit, UK-EU car exports down 25% cumulatively since 2019
- Japan exported 120,000 cars to UK in 2023 under new trade deal
- Turkey overtook Japan as 4th largest import source with 80,000 cars in 2023
- EV exports from UK rose 67% to 100,000 units in 2023
- Components exports value £20.5 billion in 2023, to 140 countries
- Australia imported 15,000 UK cars post-Australia-UK FTA in 2023
- Import tariffs on EU cars averaged 10% post-Brexit in 2023
- UK car export growth to Middle East 18% to £2.5bn in 2023
- In H1 2024, exports up 22% to 380,000 cars
- Mexico imported 18,000 JLR vehicles in 2023
- BEV imports dominated by China at 40,000 units to UK in 2023
- UK engines exported 275,000 units worth £3bn in 2023
- Trade deficit in commercial vehicles £1.1bn in 2023
- South Korea car imports to UK 45,000 units in 2023
Exports and Imports Interpretation
For a nation that supposedly slammed the door on Europe, Britain’s car industry is doing a remarkably brisk business knocking on every other door in the world, though it still leaves the hall light on for German imports.
Production Statistics
- In 2023, UK car production reached 775,285 units, marking a 19.2% increase from 2022 and the highest output since 2019
- UK manufactured 904,127 cars and commercial vehicles combined in 2023, up 20.5% year-on-year
- Passenger car production in the UK for December 2023 was 66,854 units, a 39.9% increase compared to December 2022
- In 2023, UK car exports totaled 728,628 units, representing 94.0% of total production
- Engine production in the UK fell to 229,285 units in 2023, down 15.4% from 2022 due to supply chain issues
- UK commercial vehicle production reached 128,842 units in 2023, a 28.4% rise from the previous year
- In Q1 2024, UK car production grew by 24.3% to 228,219 units compared to Q1 2023
- Nissan produced 300,000 vehicles at its Sunderland plant in 2023, accounting for 39% of UK total car output
- Toyota's Burnaston plant output was 152,000 vehicles in 2023, focusing on Corolla and C-HR models
- Jaguar Land Rover's UK plants produced 282,000 vehicles in FY2023, down 18% due to chip shortages
- In 2022, UK car production was 650,000 units, impacted by 25 weeks of lost production from supply disruptions
- UK component manufacturing supported £15.2 billion in value added in 2021
- Electric vehicle production in UK rose to 152,873 units in 2023, up 41% YoY
- Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant shifted to EV-only production, targeting 100,000 vans annually by 2024
- BMW Mini Oxford plant produced 183,000 vehicles in 2023, with 25% electrified
- UK car production hours worked increased by 14.7% in 2023 to 22.5 million hours
- Average UK car production per plant was 120,000 units in 2023 across 7 major sites
- Honda Swindon plant ceased car production in 2021 with 130,000 units output that year
- Stellantis Luton plant produced 50,000 vans in 2023 post-retooling
- UK forged 1.2 million components for global OEMs in 2023
- In January 2024, UK car production surged 58.5% to 62,400 units
- February 2024 saw 76,539 cars produced, up 15.3% YoY
- March 2024 production hit 84,219 units, boosted by 72.6% export rise
- Q2 2023 production was 181,000 cars, down 11% due to US strikes impact
- UK produced 36,000 zero-emission vehicles in H1 2024, 36% of total cars
- Alexander Dennis buses output 3,500 vehicles in 2023 from Guildford
- Ford Bridgend engine plant closed in 2020 after producing 10 million engines since 2001
- UK stamping output for car bodies was 2.1 million tonnes in 2022
- In 2023, 28% of UK cars produced were for domestic market
- UK car assembly productivity rose 12% to 1.1 vehicles per employee hour in 2023
Production Statistics Interpretation
The British car industry, having remembered it was supposed to build cars, has roared back from its supply-chain siesta with impressive export-led gusto, though it seems to have slightly misplaced its engine-building manual in the process.
Sales and Registration
- New car registrations in UK reached 1,903,356 in 2023, up 17.4% from 2022
- Battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations hit 381,970 in 2023, 16.5% market share
- December 2023 saw 136,463 new cars registered, down 16.1% YoY due to pre-ULEZ rush ending
- Ford Puma was UK's best-selling car in 2023 with 54,489 registrations
- Kia Sportage ranked 2nd with 41,509 units registered in 2023
- Tesla Model Y was top EV with 96,962 registrations in 2023
- In Q1 2024, registrations rose 11.4% to 456,007 units
- Market share of electrified vehicles reached 40.1% in 2023 (BEV 16.5%, PHEV 8.4%, HEV 15.2%)
- Diesel registrations fell to 7.1% share in 2023 from 13.8% in 2022
- Private buyer registrations increased 19.3% to 1,221,479 in 2023
- Fleet registrations grew 14.8% to 623,041 in 2023
- Used car sales in 2023 totaled 7.5 million units, up 1.5% YoY
- Average new car price in UK rose to £39,741 in 2023, up 5% from 2022
- Volkswagen Golf registered 26,419 units in 2023, top in supermini segment
- January 2024 registrations were 137,299, up 35.6% YoY post-plug-in grant end
- February 2024 saw 48,711 registrations, down 10.5% due to Leap Year effect
- Q2 2024 registrations hit 564,000, up 14% YoY
- London ULEZ expansion led to 25% drop in new diesel sales in 2023
- Online car sales accounted for 12% of new registrations in 2023
- Nissan Qashqai sales reached 35,647 in 2023, top crossover
- MG4 EV sales were 21,715 in 2023, top Chinese brand performer
- Business registrations fell 8% to 79,000 in 2023 amid economic pressures
- Hybrid registrations doubled to 289,000 in 2023
- Scotland new car sales up 22% to 150,000 in 2023
- Used EV sales grew 50% to 100,000 units in 2023
- Toyota Yaris Cross sold 29,514 units in 2023, top small SUV
Sales and Registration Interpretation
The UK's car market is a study in electric momentum and fiscal gravity, where a soaring £39,741 average price and a Ford Puma's triumph prove that even as we accelerate toward an electrified future, we're all still pragmatists hunting for a sensible crossover at heart.
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