The UK car industry connects manufacturing, engineering and sales—so its impact shows up in jobs, public finances and local economies. In 2023 it supported 183,000 direct roles and 794,000 jobs across the wider supply chain, alongside a rise in output to 775,285 cars (up 19.2% from 2022). This page breaks down production and exports, workforce and earnings, and the shift toward electric vehicles.
Key Takeaways
- 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
- 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
- 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 output and exports surged alongside rising jobs and EV investment.
Related reading
01 · Category
Economic Impact And Investments22 stats
01
UK automotive contributed £82 billion to GDP in 2022, 3.2% total
02
Automotive GVA was £39 billion in manufacturing alone 2022
03
Sector taxes paid £15.6 billion in 2022
04
£2.5 billion invested in UK plants in 2023 for EV transition
05
Nissan committed £1 billion to Sunderland EV production by 2024
06
JLR announced £15 billion EV investment plan to 2025
07
R&D spend by UK automotive firms £5.2 billion in 2022
08
£500 million government Advanced Propulsion Centre funding 2019-2023
09
Automotive multiplier effect 3.9 jobs per direct job in 2023
10
West Midlands automotive GVA £25 billion annually
11
EV infrastructure investment £1.6 billion private sector 2023
12
Battery gigafactory plans worth £4 billion by Nissan
13
Sector output grew 8% to £71 billion in 2023 nominal terms
14
£200 million Faraday Battery Challenge grants awarded 2023
15
Automotive exports supported 260,000 jobs in 2023
16
Inflation in automotive supply chain 12% in 2023
17
£10 billion potential GDP loss without ZEV mandate, per 2023 analysis
18
Switch to EVs could add £7 billion GVA by 2030
19
£350 million from Automotive Transformation Fund 2021-2023
20
Sector carbon footprint reduction target 50% by 2030 from 2018 base
21
Investment in hydrogen tech £250 million public-private 2023
22
Economic cost of 2022 shortages £6.5 billion lost output
Interpretation
Economic Impact And Investments Interpretation
The UK automotive sector is not only a major economic engine, contributing £82 billion to GDP in 2022, but its investment momentum is also clear with £2.5 billion earmarked for UK EV plant upgrades in 2023 and major commitments like Nissan’s £1 billion Sunderland plan and JLR’s £15 billion EV investment through 2025.
02 · Category
Employment22 stats
01
In 2023, UK automotive sector employed 183,000 directly, supporting 794,000 total jobs
02
Automotive manufacturing jobs numbered 142,000 in 2023, up 2% YoY
03
Women comprised 22% of UK automotive workforce in 2023, up from 18% in 2018
04
Average automotive engineer salary was £48,500 in 2023
05
25,000 new jobs created in EV supply chain by 2030 target, announced 2023
06
Nissan Sunderland employs 6,000 directly, plus 30,000 in supply chain
07
Jaguar Land Rover workforce stood at 38,000 UK employees in 2023
08
Automotive apprenticeships reached 8,500 starts in 2022/23
09
15% of automotive jobs at risk from automation by 2030, per 2023 study
10
West Midlands hosted 40% of UK automotive employment in 2023
11
Average hours worked in automotive manufacturing 37.2 per week in 2023
12
4,000 redundancies announced in 2023 due to production halts
13
Skills shortage affected 65% of automotive firms in 2023 survey
14
EV battery training programs enrolled 2,500 workers in 2023
15
Union membership in automotive sector 28% in 2023
16
JLR invested £500m in UK skills by 2023, training 10,000 staff
17
Automotive R&D staff numbered 12,000 in 2023, up 10%
18
Zero-hours contracts in automotive 3% of workforce in 2023
19
Regional disparity: North East automotive jobs density 1 in 50 vs national 1 in 200
20
2023 saw 1,200 hires into software roles for autonomous tech
21
Labour turnover rate in UK automotive 9.2% in 2023
22
Diversity: BAME workers 12% in automotive vs 14% national average 2023
Interpretation
Employment Interpretation
In 2023 the UK automotive sector supported 794,000 jobs in total, with manufacturing employing 142,000 people and women rising to 22% of the workforce since 2018, showing steady employment growth alongside more inclusive participation.
03 · Category
Exports And Imports22 stats
01
UK car exports value reached £39.1 billion in 2023, up 15% YoY
02
728,628 cars exported from UK in 2023, 94% of production
03
US was top export market with 152,000 cars in 2023, £10bn value
04
EU exports totaled 452,000 cars worth £22bn in 2023 despite Brexit
05
China imported 25,000 UK luxury cars in 2023, up 30%
06
Car imports to UK numbered 1.12 million units in 2023, 59% market share
07
Germany supplied 28% of UK car imports (310,000 units) in 2023
08
Trade surplus in cars £4.2 billion in 2023
09
Post-Brexit, UK-EU car exports down 25% cumulatively since 2019
10
Japan exported 120,000 cars to UK in 2023 under new trade deal
11
Turkey overtook Japan as 4th largest import source with 80,000 cars in 2023
12
EV exports from UK rose 67% to 100,000 units in 2023
13
Components exports value £20.5 billion in 2023, to 140 countries
14
Australia imported 15,000 UK cars post-Australia-UK FTA in 2023
15
Import tariffs on EU cars averaged 10% post-Brexit in 2023
16
UK car export growth to Middle East 18% to £2.5bn in 2023
17
In H1 2024, exports up 22% to 380,000 cars
18
Mexico imported 18,000 JLR vehicles in 2023
19
BEV imports dominated by China at 40,000 units to UK in 2023
20
UK engines exported 275,000 units worth £3bn in 2023
21
Trade deficit in commercial vehicles £1.1bn in 2023
22
South Korea car imports to UK 45,000 units in 2023
Interpretation
Exports And Imports Interpretation
In 2023 the UK car trade stayed strongly export led with exports hitting £39.1 billion, and 728,628 cars shipped abroad representing 94% of production, while imports rose to 1.12 million units giving the UK a 59% market share.
More related reading
04 · Category
Production Statistics30 stats
01
In 2023, UK car production reached 775,285 units, marking a 19.2% increase from 2022 and the highest output since 2019
02
UK manufactured 904,127 cars and commercial vehicles combined in 2023, up 20.5% year-on-year
03
Passenger car production in the UK for December 2023 was 66,854 units, a 39.9% increase compared to December 2022
04
In 2023, UK car exports totaled 728,628 units, representing 94.0% of total production
05
Engine production in the UK fell to 229,285 units in 2023, down 15.4% from 2022 due to supply chain issues
06
UK commercial vehicle production reached 128,842 units in 2023, a 28.4% rise from the previous year
07
In Q1 2024, UK car production grew by 24.3% to 228,219 units compared to Q1 2023
08
Nissan produced 300,000 vehicles at its Sunderland plant in 2023, accounting for 39% of UK total car output
09
Toyota's Burnaston plant output was 152,000 vehicles in 2023, focusing on Corolla and C-HR models
10
Jaguar Land Rover's UK plants produced 282,000 vehicles in FY2023, down 18% due to chip shortages
11
In 2022, UK car production was 650,000 units, impacted by 25 weeks of lost production from supply disruptions
12
UK component manufacturing supported £15.2 billion in value added in 2021
13
Electric vehicle production in UK rose to 152,873 units in 2023, up 41% YoY
14
Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant shifted to EV-only production, targeting 100,000 vans annually by 2024
15
BMW Mini Oxford plant produced 183,000 vehicles in 2023, with 25% electrified
16
UK car production hours worked increased by 14.7% in 2023 to 22.5 million hours
17
Average UK car production per plant was 120,000 units in 2023 across 7 major sites
18
Honda Swindon plant ceased car production in 2021 with 130,000 units output that year
19
Stellantis Luton plant produced 50,000 vans in 2023 post-retooling
20
UK forged 1.2 million components for global OEMs in 2023
21
In January 2024, UK car production surged 58.5% to 62,400 units
22
February 2024 saw 76,539 cars produced, up 15.3% YoY
23
March 2024 production hit 84,219 units, boosted by 72.6% export rise
24
Q2 2023 production was 181,000 cars, down 11% due to US strikes impact
25
UK produced 36,000 zero-emission vehicles in H1 2024, 36% of total cars
26
Alexander Dennis buses output 3,500 vehicles in 2023 from Guildford
27
Ford Bridgend engine plant closed in 2020 after producing 10 million engines since 2001
28
UK stamping output for car bodies was 2.1 million tonnes in 2022
29
In 2023, 28% of UK cars produced were for domestic market
30
UK car assembly productivity rose 12% to 1.1 vehicles per employee hour in 2023
Interpretation
Production Statistics Interpretation
In the UK’s Production Statistics, car output rebounded strongly in 2023 with 775,285 units produced, up 19.2% from 2022 and the highest level since 2019, showing a clear turnaround in manufacturing momentum.
05 · Category
Sales And Registration26 stats
01
New car registrations in UK reached 1,903,356 in 2023, up 17.4% from 2022
02
Battery electric vehicle (BEV) registrations hit 381,970 in 2023, 16.5% market share
03
December 2023 saw 136,463 new cars registered, down 16.1% YoY due to pre-ULEZ rush ending
04
Ford Puma was UK's best-selling car in 2023 with 54,489 registrations
05
Kia Sportage ranked 2nd with 41,509 units registered in 2023
06
Tesla Model Y was top EV with 96,962 registrations in 2023
07
In Q1 2024, registrations rose 11.4% to 456,007 units
08
Market share of electrified vehicles reached 40.1% in 2023 (BEV 16.5%, PHEV 8.4%, HEV 15.2%)
09
Diesel registrations fell to 7.1% share in 2023 from 13.8% in 2022
10
Private buyer registrations increased 19.3% to 1,221,479 in 2023
11
Fleet registrations grew 14.8% to 623,041 in 2023
12
Used car sales in 2023 totaled 7.5 million units, up 1.5% YoY
13
Average new car price in UK rose to £39,741 in 2023, up 5% from 2022
14
Volkswagen Golf registered 26,419 units in 2023, top in supermini segment
15
January 2024 registrations were 137,299, up 35.6% YoY post-plug-in grant end
16
February 2024 saw 48,711 registrations, down 10.5% due to Leap Year effect
17
Q2 2024 registrations hit 564,000, up 14% YoY
18
London ULEZ expansion led to 25% drop in new diesel sales in 2023
19
Online car sales accounted for 12% of new registrations in 2023
20
Nissan Qashqai sales reached 35,647 in 2023, top crossover
21
MG4 EV sales were 21,715 in 2023, top Chinese brand performer
22
Business registrations fell 8% to 79,000 in 2023 amid economic pressures
23
Hybrid registrations doubled to 289,000 in 2023
24
Scotland new car sales up 22% to 150,000 in 2023
25
Used EV sales grew 50% to 100,000 units in 2023
26
Toyota Yaris Cross sold 29,514 units in 2023, top small SUV
Interpretation
Sales And Registration Interpretation
New car registrations rose to 1,903,356 in 2023, and with BEVs reaching 381,970 that year for a 16.5% market share, sales and registrations clearly show accelerating EV adoption alongside overall growth.
Reference
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APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Uk Car Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/uk-car-industry-statistics
MLA
Min-ji Park. "Uk Car Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/uk-car-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Uk Car Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/uk-car-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
33 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level